11 The Ship
by miss37
Summary: Jim and the crew have a run-in with space pirates who steal ships and take the technology to make their own ship more formidable and sell the crew for slaves, or worse. However, they have never encountered a crew quite like the crew of the Enterprise.
1. Chapter 1

11 THE SHIP

A STAR TREK STORY

 **JUANELL HOPPER**

Jim and the crew have a run-in with space pirates who steal ships and take the technology to make their own ship more formidable and sell the crew for slaves. However, they have never encountered a crew quite like the crew of the Enterprise.

Leonard McCoy sat on the observation deck on the Enterprise as they were observing a planet, which was one that was not a Federation planet and had had no connection with it. They had spent three weeks on the planet Monea, the water world, just prior to this mission they were on now. Even Bones had to admit Monea was a beautiful, and peaceful, place. He had spent most of his time there with Andrea Farnsworth. They had not spent quite that much time together since the first time she asked him to dinner, but they had made up for it since he had decided to rekindle their relationship after trying to brush her off. He could not imagine not having her around anymore now. He had tried to avoid that as much as he could because he thought she would get tired of him and move on to someone else, but that had not happened. They had become much closer.

Jim Kirk had definitely enjoyed his time on Monea. He did not think he and Carol had spent so much time together since they were in the West. Everyone had enjoyed exploring that planet, which had living structures that resembled bubbles, but they made their own light. Jim thought they looked a lot like coral, but were much smoother, and were of course, much larger.

Jim still limped a little from his confrontation with Totrak, the Klingon captain who had been pursuing them all over the galaxy. Jim had finally gotten tired of being hunted and set a trap for Totrak, but in the process of capturing him, he had been stabbed in the hip. It felt stiff at times. It was not the first hip injury he had had, so he figured it had something to do with that even though it was on the opposite side, and Bones had told him that as well, but that the ligaments were just tight and would loosen up.

Jim was on his way to the observation deck where the computer had told him Bones was located. The doctor had been very quiet since they returned to the ship. He stopped at the door of the observation deck and saw Bones sitting on the bench. He thought it was odd that Bones would be there staring out at the stars since he claimed he did not like space much.

Bones looked up as Jim walked over to him, and he stood up. "Were you looking for me?" Bones asked.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you're alright," Jim said.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, you've been very quiet, and I was just wondering if you're having a problem. You're not hiding something again, are you?"

"No, Jim." Bones sat back down. "I'm just worried about something."

"Like what?" Jim sat down beside Bones. "Surely you can tell me."

"Jim, this is personal."

"Oh."

Jim folded his arms. "You guys always butt into my problems when I don't want to talk," he said. "And you always give the excuse that it's because you're my friends, so I'm your friend, and yeah, I'm butting in."

"Fine. I'm worried about this relationship with Andrea," Bones said. "It…scares me."

"Why? I thought you two looked like you were having a lot of fun together on Monea."

"Oh, we were. That's the problem."

Jim scowled at that. "How is that a problem?"

"I think I'm falling in love with her."

"And that's a problem?"

Bones stood up and walked over to the observation window. "Yeah! It's a problem," he said. "I've had my life figured out…I'm the doctor on this ship. I get up every morning and do whatever. I don't worry about anyone but myself, but now…" He looked at Jim. "Now, things are getting complicated. I'm standing at the monitors reading reports, and what am I doing? I'm thinking about Andrea and when we're meeting next. And when we were on Monea, I couldn't go anywhere without wanting her to go with me. You call that not a problem?"

Jim just sat there a moment. "It sounds good to me, because I can't imagine my life without Carol anymore," he said. "What's the problem again?"

"Things don't work out for me, Jim."

"Come on, Bones. You're a cynical, pessimist, and there's someone who looks past all that and likes you for who you are. What are you afraid of?"

"You know what I'm afraid of."

"Then why did you keep seeing her?"

"Because…you should know why."

"Because you're in love with her and can't help yourself."

"That's it in a nutshell."

"Well, you might as well stop fretting over it and enjoy it. You know, if you had a little more optimism, things might work better."

"That hasn't been the case in my experience."

"What does Andrea say? Does she love you?"

Bones frowned. "I haven't told her that…I don't know. She hasn't said that."

"Maybe she's just as afraid as you are, and she's waiting for you."

"What if something happens?"

"I think it's worth the risk."

Bones looked at him then. "I know you're happy as a pig in his mud wallow, but I've gotten used to my life the way it is."

"And you don't want it to change?"

"I don't know!"

Jim could see that Bones was really troubled about this. "I can't tell you what to do," he said. "But I'd hate to see you throw something good away because you're afraid it won't go perfectly."

Just then, Sulu said, "Captain."

Jim pressed the intercom button on the wall. "Yes, Mister Sulu."

"There's a ship approaching, Sir."

"What kind of ship?"

"I don't know. It's unfamiliar."

"I'll be there in a minute."

Jim looked at Bones as he ended that transmission. "I'll talk to you later," he said.

Bones followed him out the door. "I'd just as soon see this ship," he said. "Probably some power mad, deranged dictator, who wants to kill us all and take our ship."

Jim shook his head as they entered the turbo lift. "Let's try to keep a little optimism," he said. "Maybe it's just a ship that happened along here."

"Yeah, out here in the middle of far out space."

"There are inhabited planets out here, you know, and don't forget that we're out here in the middle of far out space."

The turbo lift doors opened and they stepped out onto the Bridge. "The ship should reach us in about four minutes, Captain," Sulu said. "It's a _massive_ ship."

"Massive?" Jim asked.

"Huge. I've never seen anything like it. Three minutes."

Jim looked at the scanners. "Yellow alert," he said. "Let's be ready for anything. Shields up."

They had been orbiting a planet for observation which was why they were not moving at the moment. Jim stood there waiting to see what would appear as Bones and Spock came up on each side of him. "What do you think it is?" Bones asked.

"I don't know," Jim replied. "It's nothing that's listed in the Starfleet databanks."

"It is a very large vessel, Captain," Spock said. "I have heard of a pirate vessel which wanders the galaxy confiscating ships and taking the crew from them, but those beings are never heard from again. And reports have been made of a massive ship."

Jim looked at Spock. "Are you telling me that this could be it?" he asked. "How do they get the ships? Don't they fight back?"

"I do not know but it resembles the descriptions."

"The ship is coming in, Captain," Sulu said. "Should be appearing…now."

Jim's mouth dropped open as they saw the monstrosity before them which looked like some sort of cross between a box and a planet. It was a cube shaped ship, but right in the middle, it was round…and it was about four times the size of the Enterprise.

"Heavy shields, Captain," Sulu said. "Looks like they have several layers."

"Are they hailing us?" Jim asked.

"Not yet."

"Is everyone back on the ship?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Maybe it's time we break orbit and get out of here. Uhura, hail them."

Uhura did that. "They're not responding."

Just then, the ship shuddered so violently that Jim, Spock, and Bones were thrown off their feet. "What just happened?!" Jim asked as he was getting up.

"A tractor beam!" John McCoy said. "It's draining the power from our shields!"

"Can we break it?"

"I don't think so!"

"Shields are down to fifty percent, Sir!" Sulu exclaimed.

"Red alert!" Jim yelled.

The alarm began blaring throughout the ship. Jim was trying to figure out what they should do. "Is there any way to break that tractor beam?" he asked.

Spock was analyzing the tractor beam as much as possible. "I do not see a way, Captain," he said. "It is very powerful."

"If they get us inside that ship…"

"What do you suggest?"

"Get the crew down to the planet," Jim said. "Even if they have to take escape pods. We can't let them get us all. If we find our way out, we can pick up the crew."

Spock stood up. "Captain, if we are to abandon ship, it must be now," he said. "Once we are inside the ship, escape will most likely be impossible."

Jim remembered the last time he had ordered everyone to abandon ship. He had watched the former Enterprise crash to Altamid. "Abandon ship. Sound the alarm. We'll stay and fight for the ship," he said. He looked at Spock. "Get Carol and the baby onto a transport."

"Yes, Captain."

Jim looked out the view screen. "Jim, are we gonna let them get us into that thing?" Bones asked.

Jim's communicator whistled at him. "Yeah," he answered.

"Jim, get in this transport!" Carol said.

Jim could hear the worry in her voice. "I can't right now."

"Why?"

"Carol, get in that transport."

"Jim…"

"I don't have time to argue with you about this. We have to make a plan. Please, just go. I love you."

"I love you too."

Jim hated that he could not go with her, but he would have to try and save the ship if he could. Spock returned to the Bridge after what seemed like a long time. "Carol is onboard a transport, Captain," he said. "It is launching as we speak. Everyone else is launching as well, except the ones who will be staying."

"How much do you know about this ship, Spock?"

"Nothing, Jim."

Jim looked at him. Bones was looking out the viewport. "I think we're about to know a whole lot," he said.

Solan arrived on the Bridge next, along with Scotty. "What a monstrosity," Scotty said. "They call that a ship? Looks like something that was put together with spare parts."

"Who knows if it was?" Jim asked.

"If we are to make a plan, I believe now is the time," Spock said.

"Let's go. Everyone! Let's get to the Jeffrey's tubes."

Scotty wanted to complain about that, but this was not the time. Jim, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Solan, Sulu, John McCoy, and Artemus Gordon the Sixth crawled into the access tube that led away from the Bridge. Jim crawled quickly through the tube, and he thought he could already tell why Scotty did not like crawling through these. Jim hardly ever had a reason to go into the access tubes.

"Oh, my favorite place," Solan said sarcastically. "Crawling through the access tubes."

Jim stopped when they came to a computer terminal. He accessed the computer controls. "Computer, execute Captain's plan, Alpha six, one, one, four, three. Authorization James Tiberius Kirk, four, two, nine, nine."

"Authorization recognized," the computer replied. "Voice print recognized. Captain's plan Alpha six, one, one, four, three in progress."

Jim and the others listened while all the systems in the ship shut down, and they were in the dark. Jim grabbed a light from one of the panels in the access tube. "They won't be able to move this ship," he whispered. "Nothing but the life support systems are working now."

"What are we going to do?" Sulu asked.

"Well, they want to take over our ship…we're gonna let them know we don't like that. We'll take theirs."

"What if we find that task impossible, Captain?" Spock asked.

"We'll find a way like we always do, and if we can't take it, we'll just get the Enterprise out of there. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," they all said at the same time.

Jim thought sometimes they just did that to annoy him but he did not have time to make any remarks.

They followed Jim down the access tube and out at the cargo bay, where they acquired blaster rifles. "Jim, if they can take the Enterprise like this, don't you think it's likely that they can keep it…and us?" Bones asked.

"He is right, Captain," Spock agreed. "With technology so superior, it is logical to believe that they will disarm us in any way possible."

"Are you saying we shouldn't even try?" Jim asked.

"No. I am simply saying that going in with guns blazing is not the way."

Jim scowled as he had a moment of déjà vu. "I didn't say we were doing that," he said. "We're gonna get out of the ship when they get us in there and we're gonna spread out and cause a little havoc."

"We do not know the layout of this ship we are about to be on."

"We'll learn. What do you suggest?"

"I am not certain what our course of action should be. Until we know what their purpose is of capturing our ship, we may not know what action to take."

"What do we do? Go up and ask them? _Oh, excuse me, what are you planning to do with our ship?_ "

"That is not quite what I had in mind. I suggest we observe them for a time."

"We may not have time to do that. They're likely going to scan this ship and know whether there's anyone here or not. Any ship that has the capabilities that this one has already shown must have powerful scanners."

"He's right," Scotty agreed. "But they must have something like access tubes on that thing."

Suddenly, the Enterprise shuddered so badly that they all were knocked off their feet. "What are they doing to this ship?!" Scotty exclaimed. "I'm gonna give them a piece of me mind!"

"Just relax," Jim said as he was getting up. "Let's get out the access hatch here if we can."

John McCoy activated the outside cameras to see who was coming up out there. They all looked and could see several beings coming toward the ship. Jim's mouth dropped open.

"Jim…" Bones began.

"I see them. I see them," Jim said. "Let's move!"

They hurried over to the other side of the cargo bay to a cargo hold which would lead outside the ship if they got the chance of getting out. Jim locked the door of the cargo hold with a code that only he knew and they all stayed silent.

"Captain, if we are captured by the…" Spock began.

"I know," Jim interrupted.

"How can they get the boarding ramp down?" Sulu whispered.

"I'm sure they must have an idea. They wouldn't capture ships without some sort of plan. They're pirates!"

"Jim, when they find out that this ship's systems are locked up, they're gonna be after us," Bones said. "They're gonna be after _you_."

"You don't have to remind me of that," Jim replied.

The ship shuddered slightly and they heard air release. "I think they just got the door open," Scotty whispered.

"When we get out of here, we need to break off into twos," Jim whispered.

"We're separating?" Bones asked, not liking the sound of that.

"If we're all caught together, they'll use us against each other. As big as this ship is, we should be able to separate, but we'll stay in touch."

"They may detect our communication signals," Spock said.

"We have to risk it," Jim replied. "Scotty, you and Artie go together, and I want you to cause as much sabotage as you can."

"Got it, Captain," Scotty said.

"Bones, you take John with you, and find out as much as you can. Spock and Sulu will try to find the controls of the ship. Solan and I will…well, we'll cause them as much trouble as possible to keep their eyes off you guys."

"This is gonna be great," Solan said.

"Let's just hope they don't find us in here."

"Jim, how did the Nausicaans acquire a ship of this size and technology?" Spock asked.

"Probably got part of it from the sphere builders," Jim said. "Ever read about them?"

"I have. It is possible since the center of this ship is a sphere."

"They're definitely those pirates you talked about. They take the ships and use the crew to keep their own ship going, and sell them for slaves too."

Bones shook his head. "Always something like this," he said. "I can just see us mining in some dark, cavern somewhere in the galaxy that no one's ever heard of."

"Relax, Bones."

Jim activated the camera view to see what was going on outside the ship. "I don't see anyone out there," he said. "They must be inside the ship. We better get moving."

Jim opened the small hatch that would allow them to get out of the ship. He stuck his head out and looked up the side of the ship as they were on the side of the cargo bay which was one of the lowest areas of the ship in the back. He saw no one on that side of the ship so he made sure his blaster was strapped on and lowered himself out and dropped to the floor. It was not a short drop but it was not too far.

The others dropped out one at a time while they kept watch. They squatted beside the Enterprise which was now sitting on the deck of the ship they were in. Jim looked around them and saw an opening to their left. "Let's go that way," he whispered.

They hurried up toward the front of the Enterprise and turned down what turned out to be a corridor. They did not go far before they met opposition. "Intruders in the main corridor!" one of the Nausicaans yelled.

Jim and the others fired at the ones who came that way, as they were still moving. They finally came to a fork in the corridor. "Scatter!" Jim yelled, and he and Solan kept going straight. Spock and Sulu went to the left, and Scotty and Artie went to the right. Bones and his brother just stayed with Jim and Solan for the time being.

Suddenly, the ship began blaring an alarm and the lights turned red. "I think they know we're here!" Bones said.

"I'm sure they do," Jim replied as they came up to another corner in the corridor. He looked around the corridor and there were four Nausicaans coming from the left but none coming from the right. "Go!" he yelled as he started firing at the ones in the corridor.

Bones and John went to the right while Jim and Solan kept the Nausicaans in the corridor occupied. Once Bones and John went around the next corner, Jim and Solan got across that corridor and continued in the direction they were going.

"Jim, are you sure it's a good idea for all of us to be separated like this?" Solan asked.

"We can cause them more trouble this way," Jim replied. "And maybe they won't get us all."

Solan hoped that was right, but Jim's plans usually worked…not always exactly like he planned, but in some way or another.

Two Nausicaans were behind them, but they were not firing at them. Jim knew that meant they wanted to capture them rather than kill them. He and Solan ran faster but as they were about to round another corner, there were four more Nausicaans. Jim could not stop and plowed right into them. He tried to get up and run, but one of them grabbed his ankle, and he almost fell on his face. He kicked the Nausicaan with his other foot and got away from him.

Solan helped Jim up and they started running again. Suddenly, Jim was hit with a stun bolt, and he fell hard to the floor. "Run! That's an order!" he managed to say but he could not get up.

Solan did not want to leave Jim, but he ran because Jim told him to. He got around another corner before they could hit him with a stun bolt. He did not know where to go, and he was soon faced with more Nausicaans. He was trapped between them, so he just stopped and put his hands up. He knew he could not get away from them. He had heard of these space pirates, and they were cruel and ruthless.

They grabbed Solan and slammed him into the wall and disarmed him. Then they put stun cuffs on him. He hated stun cuffs. If he moved the wrong way, they would stun him just about as bad as a stun bolt, and they kept him feeling like he did not know what he was doing half the time too.

Jim was also fitted with stun cuffs, and they were taken out of that corridor…Solan only hoped the others were having more luck.


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard and John McCoy, brothers, were running down a corridor, having no idea where they were going except that it was away from that ship deck. Bones stopped when he came to what looked like a hatch, which had controls beside it. He pressed a button and the door of the hatch opened slightly with a swoosh of air. "Come on!" Bones said and let his brother go in first.

Bones crawled in next and sealed the hatch. He sat there beside the wall for a moment to get his breath. "What should we do?" John asked.

"I don't know," Bones replied. He looked down the long access tube they were in…or he thought it looked like one, or maybe a tunnel. However, it was not carpeted where one had to crawl, but it had ridges and whatever else went along with the parts of the ship that ran along under the alleyway. "I guess we just go this way."

They began crawling. "Leo, what if they capture us?" John asked. "What will they do to us?"

Bones swallowed hard. "Just crawl, John."

"What do you know about the Nausicaans?"

"Not much."

"Leo, you're lying."

"Okay, you want me to be bluntly truthful? They are cruel and they will do everything they can to us to make the captain unlock that ship. They have no feeling whatsoever for humans."

"They'll torture us?"

"I don't know. They may just kill us one at a time until the captain gives in, but yeah, they like to torture people."

"How will they know which of us is the captain?"

"Just don't ask so many questions."

Bones knew how the Nausicaans would figure out who the captain was. They would be cruel because they would know that the captain could not sit by and let them torture or kill his crew. He also knew that Jim could not give his access code to those Nausicaans. He would die first.

"What are you thinking about?" John asked. "You know what they'll do to him, don't you?"

"John, I have never been captured by Nausicaans. I won't let anything happen to you."

They crawled down the rough, bumpy corridor until they came to a fork. "Well, should we go right or left?" Bones asked.

John crawled up beside him. The corridor was barely big enough for them to be beside each other. He looked at Bones. "We're in big trouble, aren't we?" John asked.

"You know we're in big trouble," Bones replied. "Our job is to find a way to help ourselves and the others if we can. We can't keep worrying about what might happen."

"Why has the captain never taken me on a dangerous away mission…or on even a complicated one?"

"How should I know? He doesn't want you hurt."

"It's because of you, isn't it? Because you're his best friend. He doesn't want to put your brother in danger."

"I never said anything to him about that."

"I thought I would like being on the Enterprise, but I never get to do anything."

"Are you kidding? You're the navigator. You're right up there in the face of danger all the time. Why do you think you're here now? Because you're on the Bridge crew."

"I still don't think the captain trusts me."

"And you're blaming that on me?"

"No, but I think it's because you're his best friend."

"What are you suggesting? That I stop being friends with him?"

"You could talk to him about it."

"John, this is not the time to talk about this. We are on an alien ship that just captured the Enterprise, and will do no telling what to us if they catch us. If you want the captain to treat you like you're more mature…act like it! Get your mind on what we're doing."

They started crawling again. "You know, I was on that team that helped you get off Qualor Two," John declared. "I even got injured."

"What do you want? A medal?" Bones asked.

"No. I just want him to stop acting like I can't do anything."

"John, he didn't send you on a transport this time. Think about that. Now, shut up so I can think."

Bones and John finally came to what looked like a computer terminal. Bones took the panel off it and they looked inside. "This looks a lot like the stuff I saw on that Klingon ship," he said thoughtfully.

"How did you do that anyway?" John asked.

"I was thinking. And I didn't have someone jabbering about his inadequacies with the captain."

"Are you calling me a pest?"

"Yeah. I am. We'll fight about this later."

"You know, you're one of the grumpiest doctors I've ever seen."

"Good."

Bones was searching through the medical kit he had brought with him, and he pulled out the laser scalpel. "This is a very handy instrument," he said. "Shield your eyes."

Bones aimed the laser scalpel at the wires inside the panel and activated the scalpel. Sparks flew and even a blaze flared up for a moment. He looked up as an alarm began blaring, and the lights dimmed. However, the lights flickered back on. "They must have a backup," John declared.

"I suppose," Bones replied. "In a ship this size, they probably have several."

"How can we cause them great problems if it has a backup for everything?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that they'll know where we are now. Let's get moving."

They began crawling again and turned down another corridor when they came to a branch. "I think I'm beginning to know why Scotty hates these access tubes," Bones said.

"That wasn't hard to figure out," John replied.

Bones finally stopped and sat down in front of another terminal. "You know anything about this kind of stuff?" he asked.

"No," John said. "I've never worked in Engineering."

"Neither have I. I think if you cut the right thing, it'll at least cause a small problem. Even a ship this size has to depend on something…right?"

"Every ship has to depend on something."

Bones looked at John. "He'll never give up that code," he said. "If they get the Enterprise, they can use the technology, and even use the ship."

"But they won't know he's the captain," John replied.

"If they use someone against him…we have to avoid capture at all costs."

"What do you suggest?"

Bones was thinking, but then he looked at John. "What do you suggest?" he asked.

"Me?" John asked.

"Yeah, you. You see anyone else in this tunnel?" Bones looked around them. "It seems like a tunnel."

"I think we should be trying to find the Engineering section, and try to do something to the engines."

"Where is that though?"

"What do you think the captain and the others are looking for?"

"I would think Mister Scott and Artemus are probably looking for Engineering. Jim and the others are probably trying to reach the Bridge…wherever all that is."

"Well, if they're doing that, what do you think we should do to help them?"

Bones considered that. "If this is a pirate ship, and they capture beings like they've captured us…"

John looked at Bones as realization came to him. "We can get help," he said.

"Just what I was thinking. They must have a Brig around here."

"But where?"

"That's what we'll have to find out, but I'd suspect that it would be somewhere lower in the ship. They usually are."

They began crawling again. "Leo, I don't think we can find it in this tunnel," John said.

"I know that," Bones replied. "We just have to find the best place to get out of here."

Spock and Sulu had ran until they came to a less populated area of the ship after meeting up with a few of the Nausicaans. Spock had a tricorder and he was attempting to find out where the controls of the ship were. "We must utilize the access tubes," Spock said. They came to a hatch and crawled in. "We can travel unseen."

"What if we can't even find our way to the controls?" Sulu asked.

"Then we will find another way."

Sulu was not sure he thought there could be another way, but he would follow Spock wherever they ended up. "What do you think will happen if they catch us?" he asked.

"I am sure it will not be a pleasant experience."

"I've heard about the Nausicaans. They certainly don't like humans."

"They do not particularly like Vulcans either."

Spock was following signals from his tricorder so that they could choose the best route. "Spock, even if we get to the Bridge, how can we take over this ship?" Sulu asked.

"We will observe first," Spock replied. "Perhaps we may even learn how to transport more of our crew from the planet once we find a way to get to the Bridge…if they do not move from this planet."

"You think the captain will want us to do that?"

"We will most likely have to decide what course of action is best since we are on our own."

"Maybe we should try and contact the others."

"Not yet. We do not want to give away our location if possible. We must learn more about the layout of this ship."

"What do you suppose that sphere in the middle of this thing is? It seemed to be rotating."

"I do not know. However, I am sure it has some significance to the operation of this ship."

"Maybe it's a large power source in there."

"The tricorder is indicating a massive source of power coming from that direction. I believe all the ship's relays are routed through that area."

"The rotation creates power."

"It is likely."

"So if we can disrupt that somehow, we may be able to stop this ship dead in space, and it would disrupt those shields."

"Perhaps. That is only in theory."

"We sure can't get the Enterprise out of here without disrupting those shields and shutting down that tractor beam first. It would most likely take hours for a ship this size to power up again."

"Again, that is likely. However, we have not found the way to cause such disruption, and it is also likely that our captors know we are in the ship, so they will be on high alert."

"Right."

Scottie and Artie had also taken to the access tubes in another area of the ship. "I'm suspecting that the center sphere of this ship contains the main power source," Scotty said. "And if I'm correct, the Engineering section can't be far from it."

"So, what do we do if we get there?" Artie asked.

"We'll figure that out when we get there. Don't know what to expect yet."

"What if it has some sort of operating system we've never seen?"

Scotty stopped and looked at Artie. "I like learning new things, Laddy."

Artie considered that only a moment. "Me too," he replied and went on following Scotty. "Why do you suppose they want the Enterprise?"

"If for nothing else, just to learn the technology to make this tub even more advanced."

Artie did not think this looked like it could be a successful mission. He had never seen a ship like the one they were crawling around in now, but Scotty seemed to think he could figure out anything.

Jim was sitting beside a wall in a wide open area of the ship, and there were several more beings of several different species there. He thought this must be the Brig. He was still restrained with stun cuffs, and Solan was sitting beside him. "What do you think they'll do?" Solan asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure their ultimate goal will be to get into the Enterprise's systems," Jim replied. "They can't get information out of it or anything with it locked up like it is."

"You think they'll know you're the captain? How did they find us? What all do they know?"

"I wish I knew the answers to all those questions."

They heard a loud creaking sound, and then five Nausicaans came into the area. Jim looked at them, and they were certainly not the most attractive species he had ever seen. They had head ridges which seemed to merge into a nose, and then deep ridges around their mouth and nose. But they also had four small horns lined up vertically on their foreheads, and two small tusks in the corners of their mouth. Their hairline was further back on their head than most species, which was rather similar to the Klingons, and then they had long black hair. They were also tall and were known for their strength, and cruelty.

The two came over to Jim, and he tried not to show fear, but he did not think he was very successful. He could not run from them because the stun cuffs kept one feeling like they were halfway sedated. One of them said something in their own language, and the others got Jim and Solan up, and took them back through the large door they had come through. They took them back to the bay where the Enterprise sat, and then into the ship.

Jim knew what they were about to do. The Nausicaans finally stopped and took the stun cuffs off Jim and Solan. "You will unlock the ship's systems," the one who seemed to be in charge said in English with a heavy accent.

Solan just followed Jim's lead and did not say a word. Jim just stared at them with his unwavering gaze. "Which of you is the captain?" the Nausicaan asked.

Neither of them said anything, so the Nausicaan jerked Solan over to the middle of the room and scanned him. Jim watched to see what he intended to do. "He has suffered an injury to his right shoulder in the past," the Nausicaan said.

They tripped Solan so that he fell onto his back. "Dislocate it," the Nausicaan said.

Solan struggled to get away from them, but he could not. He did not say anything, however, and braced himself for the pain he knew he was about to feel. He looked at Jim and shook his head slightly, not wanting him to give in and tell them that he was the captain.

Jim looked at Solan with horror at the thought of staying quiet and letting them do what they were about to do. "NO!" Jim yelled as he tried to get away from the two who were holding him. "I'm the captain!"

The Nausicaan looked at Jim with what looked like satisfaction on his face. "He's lying!" Solan said. "He just wants you to think he is the captain so you won't torture me!"

"On the contrary," their captor said. "It is you who lies, and you will suffer if he does not give us what we want. He will not be swayed by threats to himself, but a member of his crew…"

Jim glared at him, and then he rammed his elbow into the stomach of one of the two holding him. He managed to ram his fist into the groin of the other, and then he tackled one of the two who had Solan down on the floor. Solan then had his legs free and kicked the other off him. The leader aimed at Solan, but Jim grabbed his hand. "Run, Solan!" Jim yelled as he shoved his opponent into the wall.

Solan did not want to leave Jim, but he ran anyway. He was on the Enterprise now, and he knew where he was going. Jim had three on him now, and they were angry.

A few minutes later, Solan heard Jim's scream all the way where he was about to enter the access tube but he did not have time to think about it because there were two Nausicaans coming after him. He went on inside and sealed the hatch. He sat there a moment feeling like he had betrayed his captain…his friend. He knew Jim thought he had to protect the rest of the crew, but Solan did not like leaving friends behind like that. He could not activate the ship. "Computer, seal all the access tubes," he said. He heard an electronic beep and knew it had been done. He had heard Jim's command code when he put it in, but he had also heard that computer say _voice print recognized._ It would only respond to the captain…or Spock.

Solan got his communicator out and risked contacting Spock. "Mister Spock," he said.

Spock was analyzing a computer terminal in the access tunnel when his communicator beeped at him. "Yes," he answered quietly.

"Spock, it's me, Solan."

"Where are you?"

"I'm back aboard the Enterprise. Spock, they have the captain! They're torturing him to make him tell them how to unlock the ship!"

Spock was silent a moment as he looked at Mister Sulu. "Are they aboard the Enterprise?" he asked.

"They were the last I saw. They were gonna torture me right in front of him, but he told them he's the captain. I tried to get him not to! Why couldn't he just listen?"

"Solan, you must get hold of your emotions and find a way to help the captain."

"I'm on my way to find some weapons. I can't do anything without a blaster. Spock, they have some sort of scanner that shows them where someone had injuries in the past. They were gonna dislocate my shoulder."

"We are attempting to analyze this ship's controls and try to find a way to disable it," Spock said. "Do what you can to help the captain. I am certain that there are others looking for us. If you can help the captain, he may be able to gain control of the Enterprise again once we get the shields and tractor beam disabled on this ship."

"They have a lot of other beings imprisoned on this ship."

"I understand. We must work fast."

"Solan out."

Solan put his communicator away and sat there a moment and then continued crawling down the access tube. He had to get to the weapons locker.

After about an hour of crawling through access tunnels, Scotty and Artie came to another access hatch. "If there are beings out there, you seal this thing and get out of here, Laddy," Scotty said.

"You mean, leave you?" Artie asked.

"Yes! We can't all be captured!"

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna find a way to create some havoc in this thing."

Scotty took a deep breath and opened the hatch, aiming his blaster out before he went out himself. Surprisingly, there was no one out there. "Stay in there, Laddy!" he said. "Find your way back to the Enterprise."

"I'm not leaving you in here!" Artie declared.

"I outrank you, you young whelp, and you'll do as I tell you! Now, I don't have time to argue with you. I'll just belt you. Now, get moving!"

Artie did not like it, but he stayed in the access tube as Scotty closed the hatch. He did not think it would do them any good to go back to the Enterprise, but he supposed he should do it anyway.

Scotty hurried down the corridor he was in, and he could see that there were still red lights flashing. He knew he was close to the sphere now, and he would see what kind of operating systems they had on this monstrosity.

Bones and John had found their way to the lower part of the ship, and they had come to an opening in the access tube that looked like a ventilation shaft. They could see out of the shaft, and there were three Nausicaans out there who seemed to be discussing something. Bones pointed down the next tunnel, and he and John went on that way. The next shaft they came to lead out into a corridor. Bones did not think that was where they wanted to be either, so they continued to crawl, and finally came to a ladder that went up and down from where they were. He thought time passed by quickly when one was in a situation like this.

Bones looked down the tunnel that the ladder went down into. He could see that it was lit down there, and it was lit going up too. He did not know which way they should go, but they could not just stay where they were. "You said the Brig is usually located on lower decks," John whispered.

"I know I said that," Bones whispered. "I just hope I'm right."

Bones got on the ladder and started down. He thought it looked like an awfully long way down, and maybe it would lead to somewhere useful. John followed him down. "I sure hope we find something down there," he said.

"So do I," Bones replied. "I'm starting to feel claustrophobic."

"I'm not surprised. You always were claustrophobic."

"That's the trouble with brothers. They know all your flaws. Good thing I was a good bit older than you. We would have fought a lot more."

"Are you kidding? We fought anyway. _Leave my stuff alone!_ You always thought if anything of yours went missing, I took it."

"That's because you usually did. Remember my brand new stethoscope when I first started medical school?"

"Oh yeah."

"Oh yeah," Bones mocked. "You broke it. You still owe me that."

"I didn't break it."

"You're really lying now. Always did have Mom's sympathy because you were the baby."

"And you were always jealous because you were the oldest."

"You have no idea how hard it is to be the oldest."

"And you don't know how hard it is to be the youngest."

"Ugh, you're crazy. All you have to do is cry, and you get whatever you want. With me, it's _you should be an example for your brother."_

John laughed. "Are we really arguing about this?"

"Who's arguing? I'm stating facts. You're just trying to worm your way out of a bribery conviction."

John tried not to laugh out loud. "Why do you think Captain Kirk sent us together?" he asked.

Bones did not answer for a moment. "Because he knew I wouldn't want you out there not knowing where you are," he said.

Bones finally came to a tunnel that seemed to have more light shining into it. He looked down the tunnel and could see that there was an end there and another of those vent covers. "Stay right here," he whispered. He got into the tunnel and crawled slowly toward the opening.

John squatted in the tunnel and waited. Bones crept up to the opening and looked out without letting the light shine on him. He did not see anyone outside this one, but it looked like a huge room that had nothing in it. "I wonder what they use this room for," he whispered to John.

John came on down there and looked out. "I don't see anything," he said.

Suddenly, they heard a loud creaking noise, and they jerked back to each side of the opening. They heard several walking into the place, and someone sounding like they were in a great deal of pain. Bones listened and moved so he could see out, and to his horror, it was Jim that they had brought in there, and they dumped him on the floor, bringing wails from him.

John could see the horror on Bones' face as he watched. "You will remain here until you decide to cooperate," the Nausicaan said. "We call this the suffering room." He knelt on one knee and leaned over Jim. "We can stop your pain if you tell us what we want to know."

"I'll die first!" Jim yelled.

His tormentor grabbed him by the throat and leaned enough to choke him. "You will not die, but you will wish for death until you will beg to reveal the codes to us," he said.

Bones watched as the Nausicaan left Jim lying there on the floor, and he watched them leave that room. He waited a few minutes to make sure they had really gone, and then he opened the hatch. He looked toward the door, and then crawled out of the hatch.

Jim was both surprised and horrified to see Bones there. "Bones, get out of here!" he said. "Get out of here! Don't let them get you!"

"Shhhhh!" Bones hissed. He looked into Jim's red, swollen eyes and knew he was in agony. "What did they do to you, Jim?"

"Bones, get out of here. That's an order!"

"Not without you!"

Jim almost cried out when they started moving him, but Bones put his hand over his mouth. They dragged Jim into the tunnel they had just come out of and Bones sealed the hatch again. He took the medical kit from the pack he was carrying. "NO!" Jim said, trying not to scream. "You have to get out of here! They'll be waiting! They'll know where you are!"

Bones put his hand over Jim's mouth. "Shut up!" he whispered. "I know you're the captain, but we're not leaving you!"

"You can't help me here!"

Bones scanned Jim with the tricorder, and he just stared at the readouts. He closed the tricorder. "I told you that you couldn't help me here," Jim said.

"Yes I can," Bones replied.

"What?!"

"I can get those bones back in place, and then I can use the…"

"No! You don't have time to do that!"

"Yes I do! Now, shut up!"

"I'm gonna write you up for insubordination!"

"Go ahead! I'm a doctor, I have a right to overrule you!"

Bones and John maneuvered Jim until he was lying down flat. "You're gonna kill me!" Jim said.

"No, I'm not," Bones replied. "But I can't put you to sleep, and I can't give you something that will deaden everything but I can give you something for the pain. But once I get those bones back in place, I can repair the damage enough that you can walk out of here…I hope." He gave Jim a hypospray for pain. He knew this repair was not going to be permanent, and with Jim having to get up right after, it could permanently damage the joints.

"I can't take it! I'll scream! I can't help it!"

"Don't worry." Bones looked at John. "You hold his mouth with one hand and keep that blaster close to the other one. If they stick their heads in there, shoot them!"

John nodded. Jim was sweating, and John could feel how nervous he was when he got hold of his arms. "I'm sorry, Captain," he said as he looked down at him and put his hand over his mouth.

Jim was starting to relax a little after that hypospray, but they all heard the sickening, loud pop when Bones put his hip back into place. The pain was not near as bad as it would have been, but Jim definitely felt that. He thought maybe whatever that was he had for pain was making him feel like he was drifting to somewhere else. He thought he could see Carol holding Alex… and she was crying.

Carol was sitting on the planet in a plantation along with the others from the Enterprise crew. The inhabitants of the planet had taken them in and helped them to have shelter. She suddenly thought she heard Jim say her name. "Jim?" she said with almost a gasp.

Uhura and Andrea were sitting beside her. "What is it?" Uhura asked.

Carol shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought I heard Jim call me."

Uhura was worried too, and she had used the communication equipment there to contact Starfleet and tell them what was going on there. All other ships were occupied with the Klingon war that was still going on, although it was not as severe as it had been. However, there were no ships in that vicinity for sure because they were in deep space. They had known when they went out there that they would be on their own most of the time, but it seemed rather lonely and scary at times.

"They sent us down here to protect us," Uhura said. "But all we do is worry."

"I wonder if they have made any progress," Carol said. "They're dealing with pirates."

"And we don't even know who they are. The inhabitants here said they had heard of that pirate ship, but they had nothing worth stealing. We're not the first ones stranded here. There are different tribes around that have no way off the planet. Most of them are just beings who were minding their own business. Their ships were stolen."

"And they've never recovered them or the ones they lost?"

"None of the ones I talked to have."

"Why would Jim be calling out to me?"

"You don't know that he was. You just want to hear him."

Carol hoped that was right. She knew Jim would not give up no matter what happened. She had felt like he was in distress.

"The captain is very brave," Andrea said. "Leonard gets very frustrated at him sometimes."

"So do I," Carol replied. "He always plans things so that I will be with Alex in case something happens to him. I don't like it but I know why."

"He loves you a lot. I just wish Leonard would accept me."

"I thought you two were having a great time on Monea."

"We were, but there always seems to be something between us."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you tell him?"

"I just thought I'd wait for him to say it first and then maybe it won't scare him away. I think he's afraid of his own feelings."

"I don't know much about his past but I think if he ever says he loves you, you can believe it."

"I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Solan had gotten to the weapons locker and had loaded up with weapons, including some in a pack. He strapped the pack on and then picked up the most deadly rifle he found in the locker. He had been in situations alone before…plenty of times. He did not like it anymore, but he still had the same grit and determination that he always had. He got back into the access tube and headed back to the cargo bay where they had gotten out the first time. He would not let them capture him again. He had met up with Nausicaans before. He remembered all too well how cruel they were. They had killed someone very close to him before he could rescue him. He would not let that happen again.

Scotty finally came to the sphere portion of the ship after what he thought could have been another hour, and got into the section where the controls were, which was a sphere within the sphere that rotated. He got behind the controls panels as there were several Nausicaans in there. He knew the ship was moving, so he assumed they were not at that planet anymore, and he was sure they were at warp going no telling where. He moved along the back side of the control panels and came to a panel that had a removable cover. "Well, let's see what you got hidden in there," he whispered. He took the cover off and smiled at what he saw. "I'm sorry, Lady. You might be a fine ship in different hands, but I just need to borrow a few of these chips for a while." He had only heard and read about the isolinear optical chips but had never worked with them yet, as they were only experimental at this stage.

Spock and Sulu had made it to the sphere section as well. Spock had even seen Scotty go into the control room. He was just glad no one else did. He intended to give him time to work. "We must give him cover," Spock whispered to Sulu.

"Where's Artie?" Sulu asked. "I thought he was supposed to be with Scotty."

"Perhaps he sent him somewhere else."

"Alone?"

"Solan is now alone, but we will all come together again when we can. Right now, we must focus on helping Mister Scott."

Scotty was looking at the isolinear optical chips which he had never seen in a ship yet. He wondered where these pirates got this technology. Even the new Enterprise did not use those chips. "Well, eeny, meeny, miney, mo…" He pulled out the chip that his finger landed on. He looked around him to see if anything happened, but he did not notice anything. "Okay then, let's try this one." He pulled out another chip and all the lights went out. "Oh, that was a good one!" He began jerking chips out because he knew he might not have much time. He pulled out his tenth chip and started to float. "Yikes!" He put that chip back in and fell back down to the floor. "Better save that one for emergencies."

Spock and Sulu had entered the control room just before the lights went out. However, they had taken out some of the Nausicaans. They were in a firefight with them now which was lighting the place up fairly well. The loss of gravity had startled the Nausicaans more than it did Spock and Sulu who grabbed something and kept firing. There were only a few of the Nausicaans left in the room now, but they were still firing.

Suddenly, there was a loud grinding noise, and then what sounded almost like an explosion, and the ship came to a jolting halt. Spock and Sulu were thrown almost entirely across the room. Sulu lay there a moment wondering if he had broken anything. "I guess we've stopped," he said with a grimace.

"I believe that is correct," Spock replied as he was getting back to his feet. He had a light on his arm so he now turned it on so he could see where they were going.

Bones, John, and Jim were still in the tunnel when the lights went out. "Uh oh," Bones said as he was still working on Jim.

"Looks like Scotty found the controls," Jim said, sounding almost as if he were in a dream.

"I thought that wasn't supposed to put him to sleep," John pointed out.

"It's not putting him to sleep," Bones said. "He's just so relieved, he's resting."

Just as Bones got done with repairing Jim's hips as much as he could, they were suddenly jolted into the wall. Jim almost landed on Bones. "I guess we've stopped," Jim said, grimacing.

"I would agree," Bones replied. "I thought it was bad when we started floating."

They helped Jim get up. "You have to be careful," Bones said.

"This is horrible," Jim said.

"You're hurting?"

"No…yes…I don't know."

"Well, I did the best I could under these circumstances."

"I know."

Jim started walking slowly, but he felt like he could feel the bones moving in his hips. "I can't believe I have to go through this again," he said.

"Don't worry. I'll repair them better when we're on the ship, and you'll rest."

"I don't want to rest."

They got back to the ladder and started up this time. "Where are we going?" Jim asked. He was climbing slow, but he was determined.

"Back the way we came," Bones replied. "I assume we want to get back to the Enterprise now that someone has managed to get into something."

"We have to free those prisoners, Bones. I know where they are."

"You think you can get back there?"

Jim thought about that. "I don't know. If I get back to the ship, I can."

Solan had been on the Enterprise when the other ship came to a halt. Fortunately, the Enterprise was magnetically attached to the deck of the other ship by its landing struts. However, Solan was not, and he was thrown almost all the way back down the corridor he was in. He knew they had stopped even though he was inside the Enterprise. He went on down the corridor and soon came back to the cargo bay where there were still three Nausicaans. He aimed the blaster rifle at them and fired.

Another Nausicaan appeared around the corner and Solan did not hesitate to fire again. He did not know how many had come aboard the ship, but he started back into the ship. He started to close the boarding ramp but then he heard someone yell, "Solan!"

Solan looked out and he could barely see Artemus Gordon coming toward the ramp in the dark ship. Solan was so glad to see him. "Hurry!" he yelled.

Artie ran up the boarding ramp, and then Solan closed it and locked it so no more Nausicaans could get in. "Man, am I glad to see you," Solan said.

"I'm glad to see you too," Artie replied. "Scotty sent me back to the ship."

"I think Scotty has put this ship out of commission."

"I agree."

Solan gave Artie another blaster. "We're gonna clear them out of the Enterprise if there are anymore in here."

"At least we'll know our way around in the dark on this ship."

"Right. Let's go."

Spock and Sulu got over to Scotty. "Mister Scott, I believe we can evacuate now," Spock said.

"Oh, I was just starting to have fun!" Scotty said as he pulled two more chips out. He got up and jerked one more out as he went with Spock.

"I believe we can find our way easier this time," Spock said. "I do not intend to use the access tunnels again."

"Thanks for that."

Jim, Bones, and John had left the access tubes as well. It was dark in the ship, but they were finding their way to the Enterprise as well. "Looks like they're all occupied with trying to find the problem," Bones said.

"I don't think it'll take them long to find it," Jim replied. It was not easy for him to run, but he thought it was easier than crawling. "Let's stop a minute."

"You alright?" Bones asked.

"Yes. Give me that tricorder."

Bones gave him the tricorder and Jim looked at the path they had taken through the ship. "You went this way," he said thoughtfully as he was looking at the readout. He pointed to the readout. "The brig is somewhere right there."

"Jim, don't you think we should get out of here?" Bones asked. "All we have is a blaster."

"That's enough if you use it without questions, but yeah, let's get to the ship. Maybe we can beam those prisoners out."

They headed in another direction that would lead to the Enterprise, but they met up with Nausicaans. Jim punched the first one in his ridged nose and then shoved him into the other two. That made them even angrier.

Bones grabbed his medical kit and slammed it into the face of his opponent. John was carrying the blaster so he took care of the other two. They took the weapons from them and then headed down the corridor again. "I wouldn't even want to meet those guys in the daylight, much less this dark ship!" Bones declared.

"We made it, didn't we?" Jim asked.

"But how many more are we going to meet up with?"

"No telling."

They turned down the next corridor that went to the left, and then Bones' communicator beeped at him. He had almost forgotten that he had a communicator in all the tension he had been in. "Yeah," he answered.

"Doctor McCoy," Spock said. "Are you on your way back to the Enterprise?"

"Yeah."

"I am with Mister Scott and Mister Sulu. We will meet you there."

"Nice work, Scotty," Jim said into the communicator.

"Thank you, Sir," Scotty replied. "I never enjoyed sabotaging a ship so much."

Jim wondered what that meant. "Well, we can't leave those people here in that brig. Scotty, do you think we can transport them out once we get the Enterprise going?"

Scotty considered that. "Maybe, Captain. If the shields are still down, and if there's not too much interference. I think we need to hurry though."

"Are you injured, Captain?" Spock asked.

"I'll be alright now."

Bones did not agree with that answer much, but he did not argue. "Where are the others?" Jim asked.

"I sent Artemus back to the Enterprise," Scotty said.

"Did he make it? I guess that's where Solan is too."

"Let's hope."

"I'll try and contact them."

Jim switched frequencies on the communicator, and just then, they met up with Spock, Sulu, and Scotty, and continued on to the ship. "Solan," Jim said. He did not get an answer, and he remembered that Solan's communicator had been taken as well, so he switched again. "Artie."

Solan and Artie were creeping down the corridor toward the Bridge when Artie's communicator beeped. He grabbed it. "Artemus here," he answered.

"Artie, are you on the Enterprise?" Jim asked.

Solan was glad to hear Jim's voice. "Yes," Artie answered. "We're about to get to the Bridge. There could be more Nausicaans there."

"Be careful. Is Solan with you?"

"Yes Sir."

"Good. We're on our way to the ship…"

Suddenly, Jim and the others were facing about five Nausicaans, and the transmission went out. "Captain?" Artie said. He looked at Solan. "Looks like they ran into trouble."

"Let's just get rid of these intruders so when they get to the Enterprise, we can get out of here," Solan said.

Jim and the others had made it through that scuffle with the Nausicaans, not without some bruises. Jim rubbed his jaw. "That guy hit hard," he said.

"I'll say," Bones replied as he could taste blood in his mouth. "I'll be glad when we get out of this."

"At least they didn't shoot us," John said.

"I do not believe they had blasters," Spock pointed out. "Perhaps they have realized that we are taking weapons from the ones we encounter."

"It seems like they know exactly what's going on," Jim said. "It just seems odd that they're not trying harder to stop us."

The others were all silent as they thought about what he just said. Sulu looked at Jim. "What do you think their plan is?" he asked.

"I don't know. We don't know that much about this race of people."

Just then, the lights came back on in the ship. "Uh oh," Jim said. "We better move faster."

They all began running faster, and soon came to the corridor that lead back to the ship deck. They stopped. "There's something wrong with this," Jim said as he looked at the others. "You think they let us get away so they can capture us all?"

"How would they know I would find you?" Bones asked.

"I don't know, unless they knew where you were all along, or they just know what we would do."

"Captain, to have such knowledge would be more than coincidence," Spock said.

"You think it's a trap?"

"I do not know. However, I have to agree that we have not met much opposition, and it seems that their main goal was to capture our ship to strip it of its technology."

"You're right about that. It looks like there would be more of a crew on a ship this size."

"Not necessarily," Scotty said. "Some of these things are made so that a minimal crew is sufficient."

They hurried down that corridor and soon came to the opening that led out to the Enterprise. They stopped and looked out at the ship. "Captain, if I may say," Spock said. "It looks rather quiet."

"That's an understatement," Bones declared. "It looks like a trap if I ever saw one."

Jim took the communicator again. "Artie," he said quietly. There was no answer. "Artie, come in."

"Yes, Captain," Artie answered.

Jim was relieved that he answered. "We're in the corridor looking at the ship. Have you guys gotten all the intruders out?"

"We didn't even find any, Sir."

Jim frowned and looked at the others. Bones looked behind them. "Jim, I have a really bad feeling about this," he said.

"So do I," Jim replied.

"Captain, we can't scan the ship to see if there are any others hiding here," Solan said. "It's a big ship."

"We'll be there soon. Did you lock the hatch?"

"Yeah, but I'll get there and unlock it."

"Kirk out."

Jim looked out into the ship deck again. He knew the others would follow him if he ran out there, but he was not sure it was the right thing to do. However, they could not stay where they were either, and they had a chance that they would not be captured again.

"Let's go," Jim whispered.

The others followed Jim across the short distance to the ship, but then just as they expected, several Nausicaans stepped out, including the leader of the bunch. Jim aimed his blaster and started to fire, but the leader had a weapon in his hand that looked a lot like a lance. He aimed the point of it at the deck, and it emitted an electrical charge that traveled across the deck.

Spock shoved Jim out of the path of the weapon, and he was hit with an energy pulse that knocked him off his feet unconscious. However, it did not stop there. The others were also knocked unconscious by the weapon. Jim was beside the Enterprise seeing what was happening. Before he could do anything, he was hit by the beam as well. He fell to the floor and he thought he could feel that beam in his hip bones as he was quivering with the electrical charge. However, he had not let go of his blaster. He tried to aim it at the Nausicaan coming toward him, but he was hit hard with another blast from the weapon. He felt like he was being shocked this time as the electric charge from it went through him.

Solan and Artie were watching the monitor inside the ship. Solan got his blaster ready and opened the hatch on that side of the ship where they had escaped the first time. He and Artie opened fire on the attackers, who scattered and hid themselves. However, the boss of the group dove for Jim. He dragged him under the aft section of the Enterprise. "I have your captain!" he said.

"You let him go!" Solan yelled. "You are not taking this ship!"

"I will take the ship. You have no choice but to cooperate, or I will cause your captain great pain."

Solan looked at Artie. They were both perplexed. "What would the captain want us to do?" Artie asked.

"I don't know!" Solan said. "Oh, yes, I do know. He'd want us to stay right where we are with that door locked."

"How did they get it open the first time?"

"I don't know, but their ship is kinda on the blink right now. It'll get back up and running soon, though."

"You're in charge. You have to decide."

Solan did not like the position he was in. When he had been a rogue captain of his own ship, he did not have anyone to worry about but himself. Jim Kirk had faith in him and had made him a part of his crew, and he was part of his group of friends as well. "I can't make this decision," he said.

"You have to!" Artie declared. He thought a moment. "If we give up, they're gonna try to force the captain to unlock this ship's systems for them. If we don't give up, they're most likely going to get in anyway, but it might be delayed."

"What can we do between now and then? If we delay the inevitable, what can we do to change the circumstances? We can't get into the ship's systems without the captain or Spock."

"Isn't there some way to bypass that? I mean, what if something happened…like now. What do you do? Do you just stay locked out of the ship forever?"

Solan considered that. "I don't know. I guess they don't expect something to happen to the captain and the first officer at the same time."

"No. There has to be something. If we can get the ship unlocked, we can use it."

"But, Artie, they were able to drain the power out of the shields to get the ship in the first place. What can we do?"

"Well, if we do it before they get this junk pile going, we can get out of here. We can transport the captain and the others to the ship and get out of here."

"You think you can do that?"

"I can tell you one thing: I'm going to try."

"Where do we go to do that?"

Artie considered that. "The main computer," he said. "We have to be able to override the captain's orders from there. There has to be some sort of emergency override."

"Alright. You go and try to do that, and I'm gonna stay here and fight off our adversaries."

"I'm on it!"

Artie ran for the main computer which was on Deck 14, and he would have to get there without the use of the turbo lift.

Solan looked out the hatch and aimed his blaster at one of the Nausicaans he could see at the edge of a crate that was on the flight deck. He fired. "That's what I think of your threat!" he yelled. "I won't surrender to you, Heegat!"

Heegat was still a moment. "Solan!" he said as he recognized who this was.

"Yeah, it's me! I remember what you did to Val! If I get a chance, I'm gonna kill you!"

"How did a lowlife scoundrel like you get involved with this outfit? You must have done a lot of lying to make them trust you!"

"I didn't have to lie! You're the lying, lowlife!"

Spock was barely conscious, but he was hearing what was being said. Solan knew this being? They had known Solan had a questionable past, but he was loyal for sure. Spock looked around him but his weapon had escaped his hand when he had fallen, and he was not sure what kind of damage that Nausicaan weapon had caused to him. He could see that Jim was still unconscious but that Heegat had him in his clutches.

"You let my captain go!" Solan demanded. "We won't let you take this ship!"

"I'll bet your captain would like to hear some of your past…indiscretions."

"At least I never murdered anybody! And I sure wasn't a thief!"

Solan could see Spock moving a little. He could do nothing to help him without getting out into the line of fire himself. He was watching the outside cameras to make sure no one was sneaking around, but they were hiding. They knew he would shoot them. "Let the captain go, Heegat!" he yelled.

"You can't even get into your ship's systems without him," Heegat said. "Why would I let him go?"

"Are you so afraid of us? Are you so afraid of others that you take them hostage and threaten them so you can gain their technology? You're nothing but a big coward!"

"You hide inside your ship! And you call me a coward?"

"Well, I'm not stupid! I won't let you take me hostage so you can use me against my captain!"

"Do not worry! I have five others for that purpose!"

Solan swallowed hard. "Come on, Artie," he said quietly. "You're a genius. You can figure it out."

Artie was at the main computer now. _ACCESS DENIED._ "Come on, you stupid computer!" he said.

"Command not recognized. Captain's authorization required."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, but you have…" Artie decided to try something. "Computer, is there another way to access the systems and override the captain's program?"

"Question unanswerable. Only authorized personnel can access the system."

"I know that!" Artie rubbed his face. "I'm sitting here arguing with a computer." He thought a moment. "Computer, is there another way to access the ship's systems?"

"Authorized personnel only."

"Well, just exactly what would authorized personnel do to get into the system when the captain has it locked up?"

"Question unanswerable."

Artie did not know what was more frustrating: the fact that he could not get into the system, or that the computer sounded so calm in a dire situation. "Alright," he said. "Think, Artemus! Think!" He thought about what the computer said…authorized personnel. He was definitely not authorized personnel. He supposed it meant someone like Scotty…but he had never seen Scotty override anything like this. He had never seen the ship locked up though. He shook his head. "This is not helping." He pulled a keyboard out and began working. He would have to mimic the captain's codes, and maybe he could get in.

Bones was starting to wake up, and he could hear Solan talking. He grimaced at the headache he had as he started to move. "Stay still, Doctor," Spock whispered.

"Why?" Bones asked without moving his mouth.

"Solan and Artemus are onboard the Enterprise. Solan is stalling for time. It is logical to believe that Artemus is attempting to access the ship's systems."

"What good will that do us?"

"If he is able to get into the transporter controls, he can transport us onto the ship. Our captor has the captain with him."

"What should we do?"

"We will remain still for the time being. Can you reach your weapon?"

"I can't see it."

"I have my hand on mine, Sir," Sulu whispered.

"Good," Spock replied. "If the situation becomes volatile, you must attempt to provide cover until we retrieve our weapons. I will attempt to get to Heegat."

"Is that his name?"

"That is what Solan called him. I believe he is attempting to give us information in the disguise of an argument."

Solan fired at the crates again as he saw the Nausicaans moving. However, while he was occupied doing that, Heegat stood up and touched the end of Solan's blaster with his lance.

Spock and the others heard Solan yell, and they sprang into action. However, Heegat grabbed Jim around the throat just as he was starting to move. Jim struggled but he could not get away from him. Spock moved that way, but Heegat squeezed Jim's throat tighter.

Jim was starting to see spots, but he elbowed Heegat in the side as hard as he could, which distracted him slightly from Spock's movements. That was all Spock needed. He moved fast and punched Heegat, which caused him to lose his choke hold on Jim.

Jim fell to the floor coughing, but he saw Spock and Heegat struggling over the lance. Jim grabbed Heegat's legs and jerked them from under him, giving Spock the advantage.

Sulu and the others had grabbed their weapons when everything swung into action, and they were engaging the other Nausicaans.

Solan had fallen to the deck shaking from the electrical current that had suddenly invaded his body. He could not move nor control any part of his body at the moment.

Spock got the lance from Heegat and held it up as though he would stab him through with it, but instead, he gave him a shock with it. Jim looked at Spock. "For a moment there, I thought you were gonna kill him," Jim said.

"For a moment, I considered it," Spock replied.

Bones was helping the others, and he realized his brother had not gotten up. "John," he said. "John!" He hurried over to John, forgetting about the firefight. He dragged John over to the Enterprise and knelt beside him. "John!" Bones listened to his chest, and Jim could see the panic on his face as he realized his brother's heart was not beating like it should.

Jim got over to them as Bones began pumping on his brother's chest. "Jim, we have to get him into that ship!" Bones exclaimed.

"The hatch is open!" Jim said.

"I will go in and help get him into the ship, Captain," Spock said. He climbed up into the hatch which was no easy task.

Jim did not know how they could get John up there, but they could not open the boarding ramp because there were still Nausicaans there firing at them.

Suddenly, the Enterprise made a noise that let them know it was powering up. "Artie must have found the way!" Jim said, and just as he said that, they began seeing swirling light around them as they were transported onto the Enterprise.

Jim looked around him as he was on the transporter pad, and all the others were there as well. He looked at John, who was now lying on the transporter pad. Just then, Artemus came into the transporter room. "Sir, she's ready to go!" he said.

"Good work, Mister Gordon!" Jim replied. "Help Bones get his brother to the medical bay! We have to get to the Bridge! Where's Solan?"

Just then, Solan came in and leaned on the wall. "I'm right here," he said. He was holding his hand as he had a severe burn on it.

Jim, Spock, and Sulu ran for the Bridge, while Scotty ran for Engineering. Sulu practically hit his chair running as he started working on getting the Enterprise up. "They haven't got full power yet, Captain," he said.

"Good," Jim replied. "Get us out of here."

Sulu got the ship lifted up and retracted the landing struts. "This one's for John," he said and caused the ship to make a huge burst of energy which was so loud within the deck of the other ship that someone was going to have a severe headache at least.

Jim looked at Sulu. "Nice going," he said and sat down in his chair. He was not sure that was proper protocol, but he would let it slide this time.

Sulu guided the ship out the portal and then they were in space. "What about those other prisoners, Captain?" he asked.

Jim opened a channel. "Mister Scott, can you get a lock on those other prisoners?" he asked.

"Just a moment, Captain," Scotty replied. He sat down at the transporter console. "I'm getting life readings."

"Hurry, Mister Scott. We want to put some distance between us and that ship. Transport them into the brig…just in case."

"Yes sir. I'm getting a lock on them…" Scotty was silent a moment. "Got them, Captain."

"Get us out of here, Mister Sulu," Jim said. "And get us back to the rest of our crew."

Sulu moved the Enterprise away from the other ship, and went to warp as soon as he could. He sighed with relief. His muscles ached, but he would not leave that chair until they had everyone back aboard.

Jim remembered John. "Mister Spock, I have to check on John," he said as he stood up.

"Yes, Captain," Spock replied. He sat down in the captain's chair as Jim left the Bridge.


	4. Chapter 4

Jim practically ran all the way to the medical bay and hurried inside. Bones was standing beside the medical bed his brother now occupied. "How is he?" Jim asked.

Bones was almost in tears. "He's alive," he said. "I told him I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"Bones, is he alright?"

"I don't know yet!"

Solan sat on the next bed watching what Bones was doing. Jim went over to Solan and looked at his hand. Jim almost grimaced at the look of it. "It'll be alright," Solan said.

Jim thought he was starting to feel what had happened to him now. "We'll be there in a few hours," he said, for nothing better to say.

Bones did everything he could and watched the heart monitor. He gave John a hypospray, and saw the heart rhythm start to return to normal. He looked at all the scanners and monitors, and they were all starting to return to normal. However, he was still worried about the brain which had not returned to normal activity just yet.

Jim stood beside the bed. "Is he gonna be alright?" he asked.

"Well, I think his chances are pretty good," Bones replied. "That electric current just jolted his heart too much, I guess."

Jim looked at Bones. "I'm sorry, Bones. I should have sent him with the others."

Bones was silent a moment. "What?" he asked.

"I shouldn't have let him go with us, but I…"

"Hold on. You know what he told me when we were crawling through all those tunnels? He thinks you don't trust him because you never take him with you on away missions."

"That's not the reason."

"He also said he thought you didn't take him because he's my brother. Is that true?"

Jim frowned. He had to admit that he had had those thoughts. Bones nodded. "It is true," he said. "I should have never let him join this crew."

"He's a good officer," Jim declared. "I'm the one who decides who can and cannot join this crew."

"Then don't treat him different because he's my brother. He wants to impress you. Always did."

"I remember when I first met him on Pacifica. He was…annoying."

"Yeah, but you didn't have any trouble getting anything you needed or wanted there."

"I didn't say he wasn't a good officer." Jim leaned on the rail of the bed and sighed.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Bones asked.

"Just a little dizzy."

"Get on that bed over there."

Bones checked on John again. He looked at Solan who had only been sitting there listening to their conversation. Bones realized that he had done nothing for Solan's burn. He went over to him. "Lie down there," he said.

Solan lay down on the bed. Bones fixed the burn on his hand first and then scanned him. "All the symptoms of an electric shock," he said. "I have to scan everyone when we get where we're going. That hand will be sore for a while, but it'll be alright." He wrapped Solan's hand so that it could have a little support while it healed.

Bones realized he was not feeling good himself. He had been so upset and concerned about his brother, he had just about forgotten that he himself had been shocked too.

Just then, Artemus walked in. "Doctor, I'm not feeling so good," he said.

"Lie down over here," Bones replied.

Artie lay down on a bed. Bones realized Spock and Sulu were on the Bridge alone. He pressed the intercom button on the wall. "McCoy to Bridge," he said.

"Yes Doctor," Spock answered.

"Are you two feeling okay?"

"We are functioning adequately. However, I have experienced some slight dizziness, and so has Mister Sulu."

"Yeah. I figured as much. Once we get to Caldonia, you all have to go through treatments. Electric shock is serious."

Bones wiped sweat off his forehead. "How is John?" Spock asked.

"He's gonna be fine," Bones said. "He's resting now."

Sulu was glad to hear that. "We will reach Caldonia in approximately six hours," Spock said.

"If you two feel faint or anything, you call me right then. I'll be up there when I'm done with everyone here."

Bones worked on everyone in the medical bay, and Solan and Artie went back to their usual jobs. Jim folded his arms. "I had to run out of that ship," he said. "Don't you think that means I can get up now?"

"You did that because you didn't have a choice," Bones reminded him. "And if I hadn't given you that stuff for pain, you wouldn't have walked anywhere. You should know it by now."

"Why do you think I'm still laying here?" Jim asked.

"I can't believe they did that. They were really desperate to get this ship."

"They were, and when they get that ship going again, it's likely that they're gonna come after us again."

"You really think so?"

"Sulu gave them a pretty bad boom though. It may take them a while to recover from that."

Scotty came into the medical bay next. "Lay down," Bones said.

Scotty nodded and got onto a medical bed. "Those prisoners need those stun cuffs off," he said. "What should we do about them, Captain?"

"Until we get more security officers here, they have to stay where they are," Jim replied. "I'll talk to them when I'm not feeling dizzy. I'm sure they're glad they're out of the hands of those Nausicaans."

"Oh yes, they are that, but they're getting a little restless in there."

"Well, until I'm sure I won't fall off my feet walking down there, they'll have to learn some Vulcan patience. Spock has to stay on the Bridge right now…we're shorthanded, as I'm sure you know."

"Yes, Captain."

After almost six hours, they were at Caldonia again. Jim was standing at the entrance of the shuttle bay, even though Bones did not want him to be up. He did not know which shuttle Carol was in, but he was waiting to see her. Bones was also there waiting for Andrea.

"Captain, all the shuttles are onboard," Spock reported.

"Great. Do you have all the ones in the transporter room who want to beam down to the planet?"

"I do."

"Beam them down."

Spock nodded to Scotty. The beings on the transporter pad waved to Spock as they disappeared, and he did his usual Vulcan salutation: _live long and prosper._ They would be taking the other prisoners on their ship to their own planets as they went.

Jim finally saw Carol coming down the boarding ramp of one of the shuttles. He hurried over to her, and she looked relieved when she saw him. He had his communicator out. "Spock, you got those people down yet?"

"Yes," Spock answered.

"Get us out of here then. Set course for the nearest planet of their origin."

"Yes, Captain."

Jim put his communicator away and touched Carol's hair when she got to him. "I am so glad to see you," he said.

They kissed and then left the shuttle bay, not knowing when the ship went to warp. Bones saw Andrea when she descended the boarding ramp of her transport as well. She ran to him when she was out. "I was so worried about you," she said.

"We made it once again," Bones replied.

Jim West caught up with Jim and Carol. "Captain!" he called.

Jim stopped and waited to see what he wanted. West stood at attention when he came to him. "Captain," he said.

"At ease," Jim replied.

"I'm glad to see you well, Sir."

"Thank you."

"Where's Artie?"

"I'm not sure right now. He's alright though."

"Good. He's like my own brother."

Jim nodded. "He's doing fine."

"Yes sir."

Jim and Carol walked on. "You think they're going to come after us again, don't you?" Carol asked.

"I'm afraid they will," Jim said.

"What will we do?"

Jim shook his head. "Scotty's trying to reconfigure the shields to make them stronger and less vulnerable. The Enterprise did get some readings from that ship."

Jim's communicator beeped. "Kirk here," he said.

"Captain, we're receiving a transmission from Admiral Winston," Uhura said.

"Send it to my quarters."

"Yes sir."

Jim and Carol went into the room, and Jim turned on the monitor and Admiral Winston was there. "Admiral," Jim said, feeling like he should stand at attention. "It's good to see you, Sir."

"I hear you were captured by space pirates," Admiral Winston said.

"Yes sir."

"I also see you escaped. Like I said before, Kirk, you're becoming a legend."

Jim was not sure how to respond to that. "The pirates were Nausicaans, Sir."

"Some of the worst. I hear you also rescued prisoners from that ship."

"Yes. We're taking them to their own planets. That ship is very formidable. We were caught in a tractor beam that drained the power from the shields. Mister Scott is working on modifying the shields in case we encounter them again."

Admiral Winston was silent a moment. "They have been plaguing the galaxy for far too long," he said finally. "They have to be stopped. Every time we think we've got a lead on them, they're moving again. They know how to escape detection, and they have a way of knowing when someone is tracking them as well, which is virtually impossible."

"I saw their ship, Sir. Any single ship would have a hard time combating that thing. It's huge."

"You were inside that ship and escaped, Captain. Did you learn anything about it?"

"Mister Scott found that the ship uses isolinear optical chips. I thought those were only experimental technology. I've never seen them in use before."

"Obviously they've found that technology perfected somewhere. They're gathering technology from every ship they capture, and probably gathered some from your own."

"I locked the ship's systems, Sir. They didn't get much."

"Captain Kirk, you've been inside that ship. You know more about it than anyone else in Starfleet."

Jim frowned, wondering what was coming next. Carol moved over to the monitor as she was wondering what was coming next as well. "We didn't actually learn that much about it," Jim said.

"Tricorder data?" Admiral Winston asked.

"We did gather some, Sir. Some of the others were in the access tunnels. But, Admiral, they captured Solan and me, and would have tortured him to make me tell them the access codes to the ship. When I helped him escape, they tortured me. I'm not fully recovered yet. I'm actually up…" Jim looked at Carol, but then went on. "I'm up against the doctor's orders."

Carol folded her arms at that revelation. She did not know what had happened to Jim aboard that ship. She had noticed that he was limping again, but he usually did when he came back from a vigorous mission.

"Captain Kirk, I want you to come to Pacifica," Admiral Winston said. "You can stay here until you're recovered…and then we may have a mission for you."

"Sir, we're not done with the mission that we started…"

"I realize that. Right now, we have more important things to consider."

"Yes sir."

"I'll see you when you get here, Kirk."

"Sir, we have to return these beings to their planets."

"Do that, and then get to Pacifica."

"Yes sir."

"Winston out."

Jim just stood there after the transmission ended. "Jim, what happened aboard that ship?" Carol asked.

Jim did not answer for a moment. "I, uh…" He was not sure he wanted to talk about that at the moment.

"Jim."

"Carol, I have to talk to Spock." Jim looked at her. "I'm sorry, but you heard that."

"You think he's going to send you after that ship? That's crazy! You can't do that."

"We don't know anything right now."

"But you suspect…Jim, I'm tired of sitting and waiting to see if you come back or not. I just can't go through these emotions anymore."

"Carol, this was not my fault. We were observing a planet. They came after us."

"I didn't say it was your fault, but if he wants to send you after that ship, you'll go. Can't you ever turn down some mission?"

"He didn't send us after that ship. He told us to come to Pacifica after we get our passengers back to their planets."

"So that you can rest and recover for some dangerous mission he wants to send you on!" Carol went over to the bed where the baby was lying. "You see this child? He's your child as well as mine, Jim. Do you want him to grow up without his father?"

"No, I don't! I'm going to Pacifica, but that doesn't mean I'm going to accept a mission to go after that ship."

"Oh, you will. You can't wait to do it!"

"Don't try to put words in my mouth! I promised you that I would do something different when this five year mission is over. It's not over yet."

Carol folded her arms and walked over to the portal. "I promised you that I would stay on the ship with you too," she said. "I'm always worrying whether you'll return or not."

"Not always. Carol, there have been times when it was months that we didn't even see anyone, and some planets have been peaceful and the inhabitants there were friendly. I know we've run into a lot of trouble, but…look at all the things we've learned and seen."

"Jim, I love discovering new things too, but I want to discover new things with you. I don't want to sit and worry about you for the rest of my life."

"You won't." Jim blew out a breath. "I don't have time to argue about this right now. I have to tell Spock our new orders."

"Yes, I know."

Jim picked Alex up. "I'll take him with me," he said.

"Jim, think about Alex and me before you accept another dangerous mission," Carol said.

"I always think about the two of you. We'll talk about this more later."

Jim left the room, and Carol just lay down on the bed. She knew Jim would take that mission…if there was a mission. And she would be left on Pacifica to wonder if he would ever come back.

Jim walked onto the Bridge with Alex asleep on his shoulder. He could not help but notice all the smiles he got when he brought the baby with him. "Captain on the Bridge," Sulu said quieter than usual.

Spock stood up. "Captain."

"Spock, we have new orders," Jim said. "Admiral Winston wants us to take our passengers home, and then go to Pacifica."

"For what purpose?"

"I don't know yet, but he was very curious about the information we found out about that ship."

"We could simply send him all the data we gathered."

"I don't think it's that simple, Spock."

Spock considered that a moment. "You believe he is planning to send us on a mission after that ship?"

"I'm not sure of anything, but…he made a point of referring to us having been aboard that ship and having more knowledge about it than anyone else."

"That would be a particularly dangerous mission, Captain."

"I know that…Carol knows it too."

"I presume you have discussed this with her."

"She heard him. I don't know if I can go on a mission like this, Spock."

"I understand, Jim. I will go with you to meet with the admiral. I believe he will understand your dilemma."

"I don't know about that. I'm a member of Starfleet, and so are you. We can't disobey a direct order. We'll be court marshaled. If I was court marshaled, I would be sent to prison."

"Most likely. However, you would eventually get out and your family could visit you. If you are killed on a dangerous mission, they will simply be without hope that you will return ever again."

"I know that." Jim hugged his baby. "Carol doesn't like this life anymore."

"Are you considering resigning?"

"I have too much to think about. Let's get these others home and I'll have time to think while we're on our way to Pacifica too. It'll take at least two weeks to get there."

"It will be time to think, as you say."

Jim sat down in the captain's chair. He was so tired, and now that he was sitting down, he knew it. Right now, he just wanted to get the passengers home so they could go on with their lives…and then he had to make other decisions.


	5. Chapter 5

Jim walked down the corridor toward the medical bay. Bones had insisted that he come back there and let him check on him again. They had dropped off the last of their passengers, and were now on their way back to Pacifica. They had gone a long way into deep space, and now they were going backward.

Bones was waiting for Jim when he walked into the medical bay. "I'm here now," Jim said and got onto the medical bed.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," Bones replied.

"I don't see that it's necessary." Jim would not tell him about the pain he had been having in his hips. He did not want to lay on a bed in the medical bay or in his quarters. He had too much on his mind.

Bones did the scans on him. "You having pain?" he asked.

Jim thought he could always tell what was wrong with someone whether they told him or not. "No," he lied.

Bones looked at him. "You're not telling me the truth." He looked at the scan. "You're not following my orders and letting those hips get well, and you're…"

"Let's skip the lecture…please."

"Jim, you can't captain this ship if you start having to walk around with canes in both hands. Although it might make you think before you go running into some dangerous situation."

"You can always find the worst thing that could possibly happen."

"Jim, I can repair you to a certain extent, but then…"

"Natural healing. I know. You don't have to tell me again."

"You never want to listen. You should rest until we get to Pacifica. In that length of time, I can help this even more, and you'll be well-repaired by then."

Jim sighed. "Fine. Do I have to stay in here?"

"It would be easier that way. I can keep an eye on you. Let Spock take care of the ship."

Jim nodded and took his communicator out. "Spock."

"Yes, Captain," Spock answered.

"I'm gonna be going through medical treatment until we get to Pacifica."

"Will you be confined to the medical bay?"

"Not confined, but I'm staying here. Just take care of the ship."

"It will be done."

"Good. Let me know if anything weird or violent happens."

"I will inform you."

"Kirk out."

Jim looked at Bones. "Is that good enough for you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Bones replied. "At least I'll be able to work on you without you walking all over the ship. I told you when we got out of that ship that you would have to have treatment."

"I remember."

"Stubborn."

"No. I was just hoping you would forget."

"I don't forget things like that."

Jim stayed in the sick bay until the day they would arrive at Pacifica. He had to admit he was feeling much better and was having no pain, although his right hip seemed rather stiff. It had been that way since he tangled with Khan on Pacifica…or actually a moon in the same system. He sat in the captain's chair thinking about that. They had not been back to Pacifica since then, of course, but it was also where he got reacquainted with Carol. It had definitely not been an all bad experience. It was a beautiful planet with beautiful oceans and deep blue skies. It was also a Federation world, and was the site of a lot of diplomatic events, such as the peace talks. Chancellor Gorkon was still there, along with his assistant, and some others.

Jim knew he would not be enjoying this visit much because he would be in meetings with Admiral Winston, and he was sure he would be arguing with Carol. She was becoming more worried all the time. Their baby was growing and she did not like Jim going on dangerous missions. He had not gone down to Caldonia but had let Spock and some others go.

Spock came and stood beside him. "Captain, what do you expect when we reach the planet?" he asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "I know I'm gonna be in meetings."

"I will accompany you if you wish."

"The admiral will probably want to talk to you too, and maybe everyone who was on that ship, especially Scotty."

"It is a logical move because we have learned more about the ship, and perhaps may know more about how to bring it down."

"I don't know how to get into it except being captured, but we do know how to stop it. You know that Scotty couldn't have done that without all our distraction though."

"I do believe they knew where we were the whole time, but they thought it easier to wait until they could get us all at one time rather than chasing us through the access tunnels, and they knew that we would eventually go back to the Enterprise."

"Yeah. They must have known Bones was there when they left me in what he called the suffering room."

"What room was that?"

"It was just a big empty space, and they just left me there. Bones was in the tunnel, and came out to get me. I thought sure they would capture him, but it was part of their plan. They wanted all of us."

"I believe that is correct."

"If they captured us again, I'm thinking it would be a lot worse."

"The lance he used against us was quite formidable. Carol has analyzed the one that we brought with us. It has its own power source to generate the electrical charge."

"It's definitely a formidable weapon."

"I agree. However, there are ways to keep electricity from being conducted."

Jim looked up at Spock then. "Are you guys working on that?" he asked.

"We have spoken of it but we would not proceed with anything without your approval."

"Who all is in this?"

"Carol, Myself, Mister Scott, and Mister Gordon."

"Ah. The sinister four." Jim scowled. "Carol's in this?"

"Yes, Captain. Would you prefer that she not be involved?"

"No. That's fine. I'm just a little confused."

"Explain."

"That's kinda personal."

"Pardon me, Jim."

"It's alright, Spock."

Jim was thinking and wondering what Carol was up to. Why would she want to develop some way of defeating those weapons? He thought she was certain that he would take a mission to do something about that ship. He supposed he would be tempted, but he had planned to discuss it with her more. He did not intend to just go without talking about it.

"You guys should probably go ahead with that," Jim said. "Just keep me informed."

"Yes Captain," Spock replied, and left the Bridge.

Later that day, they were coming up on Pacifica, and it looked just as it had the last time they saw it. Jim remembered how happy he was to see this planet the last time, but he was not sure he was glad to see it this time. He had a feeling that it was going to change the way they had been going about their business the last few years.

Jim waited until everyone was off the ship. He knew all the others on the ship were in for a good vacation, and it was right for it to be that way. They had worked with him through dangerous situations that even he had wondered if they would all come out alive. However, they had also had some fun on this journey together.

Jim went to his quarters to change into his dress uniform since he would be going straight to meetings. Carol was there and in her own dress uniform. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going with you," she said.

"Wait a minute. You can't…"

"Don't tell me I can't. Since I'm the one who is attempting to create a way to avoid their weapons, and a way to defeat them altogether, I think I should be present."

Jim just stared at her a moment. "What about Alex?"

"Andrea is going to watch him for us. Don't worry. I have everything in order."

"Right."

Jim took his dress uniform out. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with this," he said.

Carol turned to look at him. "It seems that we're going to have something to do with this whether either of us wants to or not, and if you have to go on this mission, I'm going to make sure you are safe as possible."

"Well, I guess I can't get a better answer than that."

"Hurry and get ready. You're wasting time."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Jim got into his dress uniform and then they went to the boarding ramp where Spock and Bones were waiting. Neither of them said anything about Carol being along. "Captain, Carol and I have created a blueprint of the suit we intend to create that would shield one from the electrical charge from the Nausicaan weapons," Spock said.

Jim looked at the readout as they were walking. "You think it'll work?" he asked.

"It must be created and tested before we will know anything definite."

"Right," Carol agreed. "We want to build a prototype and test it. But you have to approve that."

"I'm all for building it, but how are you going to test it?"

"One of us will simply have to put it on and we'll use the Nausicaan weapon to test it."

Jim was silent a moment. "But if it doesn't work…

Just then, they met up with John McCoy. "Captain," he said and saluted.

"At ease," Jim said. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes sir. If you need anything while we're on the planet, just let me know."

"Now, Lieutenant McCoy, you are on vacation, and you need to get out and enjoy yourself. After what you went through, you need to just take it easy."

"But Captain…"

"No buts."

"Yes sir." John looked at Bones. "When will you be done in there, Leo?"

"I don't know," Bones said. "But we have a volley ball game coming."

John smiled. "You're on."

"I might ought to wait for a day so you can get rested up for it."

"Rested up? I've been rested up for several days."

"Right. You just watch it."

Jim and the others walked on. "I wonder what the admiral is going to say," Carol said.

"Oh, he's probably going to send us out after those murderous thieves where we'll either take their ship or die trying," Bones declared.

"Bones. If we go, we're gonna have a plan," Jim said.

"Right. Like last time?"

"We weren't expecting them that time."

"I don't think we had a plan. We just went in like we usually do…feet first, and fought our way out."

"Doctor, such a bleak outlook on every situation does little to help," Spock said.

"You know I'm right."

"Perhaps. However, we must carefully plan what we will do in this situation."

"Captain!"

They looked around to see Scotty coming after them also dressed in his dress uniform. He put his hat on as he reached them. "I thought I should come to this meeting too, Sir," he said.

"The more the merrier," Jim replied with a smile at Carol. "I always say."

Carol could not help but smile. "Do you _always_ say that?" she asked.

Bones shook his head. "You gonna let us in on those smiles?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," Jim replied.

"You guys…you can't have Andrea babysitting the whole time we're here. I want to talk to her."

"Don't worry. We won't be in meetings the whole time we're here."

They got a transport to take them to the Starfleet headquarters there on the planet. Jim had been there the last time he came to Pacifica, but he had met with Admiral Carson that time, and they still never knew what happened to him after the battle on Lemma II. He always had to do business while the rest of the crew had fun…but that was the way of the captain of a ship.

"I hope we're gonna get to have some fun while we're here," Bones said while they sat in the transport. "You think they'll just send us right out after that ship?"

"I don't see how they can when they don't know where it is," Jim replied. "Like the admiral said, they have trouble tracking it. They shield the ship's warp ion particles someway."

"Or maybe it's that power source they have," Scotty suggested. "I never saw anything like it. I'd like to get another look at that thing."

"I'm sure you would, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. The admiral hasn't sent us on any mission yet, so everyone needs to relax. You guys are assuming that the admiral's reason for calling us here is to send us out after that ship."

They were all silent a few minutes. "Why isn't Solan with us?" Carol asked.

"I didn't want everyone to have to deal with these meetings," Jim said. "They can talk to the admiral later."

They soon arrived at the Starfleet headquarters, and went inside. Jim put his hat under his arm. He was always nervous when he had to meet with Admiral Winston because he did not think the admiral liked him very well. The others were waiting for him. "Alright, let's go," he said.

The Admiral was expecting them, so they did not have to wait when they arrived at his office. Jim and the others stood at attention when they entered the office. "Captain Kirk," Admiral Winston said with his booming voice. "At ease. Have a seat."

They all sat in chairs across from the Admiral's desk. "Nice to see you in one piece, Captain," Winston said. "I'm sure you all have some very interesting information for me."

"We do, Sir," Jim replied. "My science officers are even working on a way to deter the Nausicaan weapons."

Winston was silent a moment. "Are they, now?"

"Yes. The Nausicaans use an energy weapon. It has its own power source to generate an electrical charge."

"You know, you and your team are the first to ever encounter that ship and come back to tell us anything about it. They're pirates and they gather technology, learn how to incorporate it into that monstrosity they call a ship. Probably gather technology for weapons too. What did they gather from your ship?"

"I don't think they got anything. If they did, it was very little."

"We did not detect any data transfers," Spock said.

They told Admiral Winston everything that had happened and how they escaped from the Nausicaans, and what the ship was like. Scotty gave even more details about how the ship functioned. "If somebody gets into that thing, they can mess up that ship but good," Scotty said.

"The thing is, we think they knew where we were the whole time," Bones added. "They wanted to get us all together."

"They thought it would be easier to capture you all together," Winston said. "And they knew you would come out after your captain. Seems they know quite a bit about Starfleet."

"They're a very formidable foe," Jim said. "No one can just go in there and take over that ship. They pretend not to know what you're doing, and all the time they do. They must have known we couldn't cause much trouble with the ship until Scotty got to the control room. I agree with B…Doctor McCoy. I believe they were tracking us the whole time."

"How?" Winston asked.

"I don't know."

"Perhaps they can detect body heat, or biological signals," Spock said. "If they have captured Starfleet ships in the past, they would most likely have the technology to detect living beings."

"They've only captured one," Winston replied. "Since you didn't find any members of that crew aboard that ship, we assume now that they are either dead or have been sold as slaves. You were just clever enough to escape."

"Who buys slaves from them?" Jim asked.

"We don't know that either. Could be anywhere in that sector. You've charted a lot of it in the years you've been out there, but there is much more that is unexplored. We don't know all the ways of that area out there. I want to see the details of whatever you're planning against those weapons."

"They're still working on that, Sir," Jim said. "I haven't even seen it all."

"Then I expect to see something while you're here."

Admiral Winston stood up, so Jim and the others did as well. The admiral was definitely known for his abrupt endings to meetings. "Chancellor Gorkon would also like to see you, Captain Kirk," Winston said. "I believe he'd like you to escort him back to Kronos when he's ready to go."

"Admiral, I…"

"No arguments, Kirk. Dismissed."

Jim just stood there a moment. "Yes sir."

Jim and the others went out of the office. "That wasn't a very detailed meeting," Bones said. "Now he wants you to escort the chancellor back?"

"Maybe it won't be that bad this time," Jim replied. He dreaded having to get involved with the Klingons again, but he figured he was stuck with them for now.

"Captain, may I add that there are still hostile factions who do not agree with making peace with the Federation," Spock said.

"I know that, but if he sends us, we can't very well refuse."

"This is getting worse all the time," Scotty declared. "Now, we have to go back into that realm of terror."

"I suppose Spock, Mister Gordon, and I should get to work since he wants details," Carol said. "We'll be aboard the ship."

"Right," Jim replied. He watched them walk away talking about their project, and then he looked at Bones and Scotty who were waiting for him to say something.

"Captain, I can work more on the shields," Scotty said.

"Make sure you take some time to relax and have a little fun, Mister Scott."

"Yes sir."

Scotty left and headed back to the ship. Bones looked at Jim. "You got quarters assigned yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, probably the same quarters I had the last time I was here," Jim replied.

"Are you gonna take that mission if he wants to send you out after that ship?"

"There's no guarantee that we can find that ship. It was just by chance that we met up with it this time."

"Don't you think it's odd that they didn't transport us from the ship after they drained the shields?"

Jim considered that. "I don't know. You think they don't have transporters?"

"Surely they do. With all that technology and no transporters? Doesn't make sense."

"Unless they haven't been able to find any that would be compatible with that ship."

"If they had gotten into the systems of the Enterprise…"

"I know, Bones."

"Just how did Artemus get into it?"

Jim scowled at that. "That's something I'm going to ask him. We have to fix that, because if he can, someone else can."

"He does work with the ship a lot though," Bones said as they walked out the door into the sunlight. "Just look at that sunlight."

Jim squinted slightly. He could not say he was used to the brightness of a sun anymore. "It's nice to see something besides corridors."

"Too bad your wife is spending her time with two other men."

Jim looked at Bones. "What?"

"Well, she's working on a project with Spock and Gordon. And you're gonna have to get Alex. I love the little tike, but I want to spend some time with Andrea."

"I know. Don't worry. I'm going that way when I get some different clothes to wear. I'm sure not wearing this the whole time I'm here."

"Ugh, don't even mention it."

"That's probably not the last meeting I have to attend though."

"I'm sure it's not."

They got a transport to the quarters they had been assigned. Jim walked into the suite where he and Carol would be staying, and it was definitely the same as last time…an extensive room big enough for more than two people, although they had three now. He dropped his hat on the table and just stood there a moment. He was not tired this time, and he was not sure what he wanted to do. He thought maybe he would just go get Alex and go to the Enterprise to get some more clothes.

Jim looked at the readout he had been given and found which room Andrea was in. He wondered why it had to be completely on the other end of the complex, but he headed on over there. He rang the door chime and Andrea answered promptly.

"It's Captain Kirk," Jim answered.

Andrea opened the door and Jim went in. "I came to get Alex," he said. "He and I are going to see Pacifica."

Andrea smiled. "Everything is ready, Captain," she replied.

Jim smiled as he saw that Alex was dressed like a little sailor. "Alright," he said. "I see you're all ready for an ocean planet." He looked at Andrea. "Thanks."

Jim headed out and passed by Bones in the hallway. He was definitely looking like he was on vacation. "See ya later," he said.

"Have fun, Bones," Jim replied.

Jim went outside and got a transport to take him back to the ship. "See? When you're on a planet, you have to travel from one place to another," he said to Alex, who smiled. "At least you don't have to go to meetings though. If you're ever a captain, just get ready. We're gonna go see the ocean. This place is like one big planet of Hawaii."

They soon arrived at the ship, and Jim went inside to his quarters. He laid Alex on the bed. "I guess I have to take our bags to the room," he said. "I'm glad your mother packed everything." Jim thought she probably knew she was going to be working when she got there. He hung his dress uniform up, although he figured he would be wearing it again before he left this planet. He got into some jeans and a t-shirt. "At least I don't have to be formal right now." He put his shades on. "How's this?"

Alex smiled, and Jim could not help but smile himself. "That smile is contagious," he said. He looked at the bags they had. "This is not going to be easy. I guess this is one of those times the…baby backpack will come in handy. You think that's what it's called? Although it doesn't go on the back, does it?"

Carol walked into the room just as Jim had gotten the baby into the carrier and strapped on, and picked up all the bags. She could not help but laugh. "I'm the captain of a star ship," Jim said. "I shouldn't have to carry everything, and have my wife laugh at me for it."

"You are so adorable," Carol replied.

"Am I? What are you about to do?"

"Change into more comfortable work clothes." Carol kissed him. "I see you have everything under control."

"How long until you show up at the room? You know which we're in, right?"

"Of course. You don't think I would get lost, do you?"

"Funny. I guess I'm gonna learn how you feel when I'm off working and you're sitting and waiting, right?"

"I hope you don't think this is revenge."

"No, but I think you're enjoying it."

Carol smiled. "You know me too well."

"Don't forget it."

"I won't…but I suppose I'll be sitting and waiting again soon."

Jim's smile faded. "We'll see. Don't blow anything up."

Carol smiled. "Don't worry."

"See you later."

Jim went out the door and looked down at Alex who was just smiling up at him. "You're happy no matter what, aren't you?" he asked. "That's because you don't have to carry everything. You just ride along. Someday, you'll get married and then you'll have to carry everything."

Jim met Spock in the next corridor. "Captain, do you need help?" Spock asked.

"Oh. No, I'm fine," Jim said.

"You should have asked someone to carry your bags for you."

"Nah, it's a piece of cake."

Spock scowled at that. "We will keep you informed of our progress."

"Thanks."

Jim walked on, and Spock just stood there a moment wondering if Jim was being sarcastic in that conversation. He could never figure out humans at times.

Jim went out to the transport and was glad he did not have to lug those bags all the way on foot. He sat down in the transport while someone else put them into the vehicle. He just hugged Alex to him. "Well, little one, we're on our way now," he said. "We'll just see how much trouble we can get into. How about that?"


	6. Chapter 6

Jim stepped out onto the beach wearing a tank top and shorts…and carrying Alex in the baby carrier. He had put a hat on him so he would not get too much sun. "Well, this is the beach," he said.

"Jim, what are you doing bringing that baby out here?" Bones asked as he and Andrea walked over to Jim. "Don't you know he could get sunburn or get too hot, dehydrated?"

"Bones, will you relax?" Jim took a baby bottle with water in it out and shook it. "See? I'm prepared. Besides, what do you think I'm gonna do? Sit in the room? He needs to get out and see things too."

"I'm not sure he knows what he's looking at."

"He will if I tell him. Now, don't interrupt me. If I can captain a starship, I think I can teach my son."

"Alright, alright. But know this: being a parent is a lot harder than being a captain."

"Right now it's not too bad."

"Yeah, wait till he starts saying _But Dad, why can't I go?_ "

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Bones smiled and chuckled at that. "See you later. You gonna come and watch John and me play?" he asked.

"Oh, sure. I wouldn't miss that."

"Two. Don't forget! Right over there. You know the place."

"Yeah. I won't forget."

By the time Jim walked down to the water, Alex had fallen asleep. Jim just looked out across the vast ocean while the waves lapped at his feet. He loved space, but he had to admit, it was nice to see things like this sometimes.

Bones and Andrea walked over to a beach-side restaurant and ordered a drink. They sat at a table to wait. "This is the most beautiful planet I've ever seen," Andrea said.

"I'm glad we're not facing a maniac this time," Bones replied.

"Leonard, let's not talk about doom and gloom."

"Sorry. That just slipped out. You're starting to sound like Jim."

Andrea smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. "You gotta think positive sometimes," she said.

"I am trying."

"Not hard enough. You know, you didn't think our relationship would work, but here we are just having a glorious time together."

"Andrea, I..."

Bones noticed Jim walking that way and he leaned back in his chair. Andrea looked to see what had caused his sudden embarrassment. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Bones replied.

"You were about to say something."

Bones saw that Jim was not coming over to them but was walking past. Andrea snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Leonard," she said. "Are you ashamed for the captain to see us showing affection toward each other?"

Bones did not say anything for a moment. "I wouldn't say I'm ashamed."

"Then what is it? He knows we've been seeing each other, doesn't he?"

"Well, yeah. Of course he does."

"He doesn't like our relationship? Because if he doesn't, I…"

"No, that's not it at all. He told me I should be honest with you and enjoy our relationship. He thinks I'm dragging my feet."

"Are you?"

"You know I am."

"It doesn't matter. I enjoy being with you."

Bones sighed. He thought he might as well just spill out his feelings. "I want to tell you exactly how I feel," he said.

Andrea leaned on the table. "Go ahead."

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

"Absolutely not. The harder it is for you to say it, the better you'll feel after you do."

"Is that how it works?"

"Yes, because you'll really mean it, and then it won't be so hard to say anymore."

Bones had never heard that before, but he supposed everyone had their own opinions. "The truth is, I can't imagine my life without you anymore," he said before he chickened out. "I…" Bones cleared his throat. "I love you."

Andrea smiled. "I love you too," she said and stood up. She kissed him not caring who saw it.

Jim almost laughed when he saw that and pulled his shades down. He thought he might have to rib Bones about that. He was at the refreshments stand. He got himself a lime drink and sat down by himself, making sure he was not facing Bones and Andrea. He thought about that mission that the admiral was just liable to send them on. He wondered where that ship would show up next, and whether they had been targeting the Enterprise. They had no way of knowing whether they were after them, or whether they just happened along at the right time to intercept the Enterprise. And what happened to those other ships? They had seen no other ships on the deck in that ship. Did they disassemble them and sell the parts? Did they integrate the parts into that ship? Trade them? There were just too many unanswered questions, and no answers because no one knew much about that ship.

Jim was not sure he wanted to escort the Klingons home either. He thought about what Carol had said earlier " _I'll soon be the one sitting and worrying again_ ". Did she intend to stay on Pacifica while they went on that mission? Now that he was thinking about it, he supposed it would be best if she stayed there and did not take the baby into such a situation. He looked down at his sleeping son. It was definitely not a situation for a baby. He, himself, had been born in the middle of an evacuation while the _Kelvin_ was being destroyed around them. He touched Alex's soft blond hair. Alex had almost been born in the middle of a Klingon attack.

"Hey, Jim, it's almost time," Bones said as he and Andrea were standing not far from his table. "You daydreaming over there?"

Jim did not know it had been that long. "No," he said.

"You look like it."

Jim went over to them and they walked over to the volleyball court, which was simply a sandy area on the beach with a net. John was already there. "I was beginning to think you chickened out," he said.

"Are you kidding?" Bones asked. "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of thinking that!"

Uhura came over there then. "Hi, Captain," she said. She smiled at the sleeping baby. "So sweet." She sat beside Andrea. "Hi. Is this the big tournament?"

Andrea smiled. "I think so," she said. She looked at Jim. "Captain, if you'd like to play, I'd be glad to watch Alex for you."

"I think this is just a game for two," Jim replied.

"Not if Uhura joins you guys."

"Maybe after this first round."

Jim had played volleyball with Bones before, and they had had a great time at it. While he was watching the game between John and Bones, his communicator beeped at him. "Kirk here," he said.

"Captain, your presence is required in my office in one hour," Admiral Winston said.

Jim almost wanted to stand at attention. "Yes Sir. I'll be there."

"Winston out."

Jim closed his communicator. He would have to get back into that dress uniform. He looked at Uhura and Andrea. "I'll take care of Alex for you, Captain," Andrea offered.

"Uh, no," Jim said. "I'll just take him with me this time. You have fun with Bones."

"Captain, I would be happy to take care of him for you," Uhura said. "Spock is busy and I don't have a thing to do."

Jim looked down at Alex who was still sleeping soundly. "I appreciate that, but I want to take him with me," he said. "You can be on standby in case he wakes up and starts crying or something."

"I'll be ready, Captain."

Jim went to his room and got back into his dress uniform. He could not say it was comfortable, but it was required. He strapped the baby carrier back on after he changed him, and he was fully awake now. He had time to give him a bottle before he went to that meeting. He had to wonder what it was about. It had not been long since he was over there. He always wondered about meetings until he got there.

Jim arrived at the headquarters again and walked inside where Uhura was waiting. She was also dressed in her dress uniform. "I gave him a bottle before I came over here," Jim said. "He shouldn't get hungry while we're in there unless this is going to be a very long meeting."

"Do you want me to go inside with you or wait outside the door?" Uhura asked.

"The admiral has a habit of sending people out, but you can go in. If he sends you out, just remember, you were warned."

Uhura smiled. "Yes, Captain."

They walked to the admiral's office and were admitted immediately. Chancellor Gorkon was there, as well as his assistant. Admiral Winston was standing behind his desk. He frowned slightly when he saw that Jim had brought his child along. "You remember Chancellor Gorkon," Admiral Winston said.

"Yes sir," Jim replied. "It's good to see you again, Chancellor."

Uhura greeted them in Klingon. Jim thought she always knew how to make an impression.

"Captain Kirk," Gorkon said. "We think that we may be able to work together to combat this pirate ship."

"Really? What did you have in mind?"

"It's a problem for the entire galaxy, and since we are going to be allies, it is honorable to work together in this matter."

"We don't have a plan yet. My science officers are working on a way to deter the effects of the Nausicaan weapons, and to improve our shields on the ship. I assume the admiral has filled you in on what happened."

"He has, Captain Kirk."

"Our main problem is that it's very difficult to know where the ship is. It's virtually untraceable. They don't leave a warp signature."

"That is very strange. I have heard of masking a warp signature by using an electromagnetic field. The Rigelians have discovered this."

"And how do you know about it?"

"We have had dealings with them, and we have also heard of a Rigelian ship that disappeared, and was never seen or heard from again."

"And you think these pirates are probably responsible."

"It is likely. How else does a ship disappear without a trace?"

"Have you figured out any other way to trace them?"

"That is a good question," Gorkon said.

Admiral Winston turned on the view screen which had a diagram displayed. "This is all the _reported_ appearances of the Nausicaan ship," Gorkon said. "The ones who reported it were not the ones they captured. It is unknown how many ships they have captured."

"There were no ships on that deck except the Enterprise," Jim said. "Whatever they're doing, they're not keeping the ships intact."

"Of course not. They are most likely salvaging the parts and using some of them, and selling the rest."

"How do you stop something like this?"

Jim looked at the diagram. "Doesn't look like they have any sort of pattern," he said. "Maybe they just wander aimlessly through the galaxy."

"You would think that, wouldn't you?"

Jim looked at Gorkon. "You know something different?"

"It seems our new ally knows more about this situation than we do," Admiral Winston said.

"So, what are they doing?"

"They're in league with the Romulans, who are also thieves of technology."

Jim absorbed that a moment. "So you think the Romulans are involved in this?" he asked in surprise. "What benefit are they getting from this ship?"

"Sharing the technology, and possibly gaining slaves."

"For mining."

Jim looked at Uhura, who looked just as surprised as he did. "How do you know this?" he asked.

"As you know, we've had an alliance with the Romulans for some time, and there is a certain faction of theirs, and ours, who are traitors, because they do not like the alliance. You defeated Totrak…but there is another who is just as bad, or maybe worse, than him. He will not be one who will fight honorably."

"So, how do you propose that we find this ship?"

"The ultimate goal of this Klingon faction is to find the new Klingon colony," Gorkon said. "They also agree with making peace with the Federation."

"So, who is this new Klingon who is involved in all this and how is knowing this going to help us find that ship?"

"Because we have infiltrated his ranks with spies. The Klingons are a proud race, but we must use measures that are less than honorable to stop this traitor."

"Well, I wouldn't say it's so dishonorable to use spies, Sir. Are you saying that this Klingon is on this ship at times?"

"We believe he is, and he is sharing and gathering technology. You see, they believe they can destroy the alliance, and create one of their own that will put the Klingons and the Romulans against the Federation."

"So your life is in danger as well. What about Kronos?"

"He knows he cannot take over Kronos without becoming the Chancellor himself. It is the homeworld, and is well protected. He is not foolish enough to go there…yet. That is another reason that he is part of this piracy. Technology gives more power. He wants to find that Klingon colony because there are many there who are of more prestigious Houses than he."

"I see."

Alex was starting to move around and starting to whine. Uhura took him. "Excuse me, Sir," she said and turned to leave the room.

Jim just stood there a moment as he almost lost his train of thought. "So, they're going to let you know where that ship is," he said thoughtfully.

Admiral Winston just watched Jim a moment. "I want you on this mission, Kirk," he said.

Jim looked at him. "Sir, this is going to be an incredibly dangerous mission."

"You've been on dangerous missions before."

"I don't think it's been anything quite this dangerous. We may or may not be able to get out of that ship."

"You won't be trying to get out this time…you're going to take that ship."

"How?"

"That's up to you, Captain. You're clever, after all. Your crew is creating a way to beat their weapons. You'll get in there, and get Mister Scott into that control room again. You know it's not impossible."

"It wasn't impossible that time because they weren't expecting us to be able to get there, but their actions weren't…dare I say it? Logical? I mean, they knew we were there, but they didn't show much resistance until they had us all together. I don't think there are very many crew members aboard that ship. I think it's designed to have a very minimal crew."

"That's likely because if it's being run by traitors and pirates, they don't have that many to work with."

"Another problem: how do we get aboard? It's not like we can transport ourselves onto it. I'm assuming you have an idea of how we can get ourselves captured on that ship."

"You're right, Captain. Just let us know when your scientists have a breakthrough, and then we'll discuss this more."

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed."

Jim walked out of there wondering how they would get into that ship again. He was sure it would not turn out the same way again, and he did not intend to take as many people.

Uhura was waiting for him. She stood up when he came out of the office. "What do you think, Captain?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "I think this is going to be the most dangerous mission we ever went on."

"Do you really think it's possible to take that ship?"

"Maybe. I can't say I think it's impossible. I know I'm taking fewer people this time so there won't be so many to get out."

"You already have a plan?"

"I'm working on it. The trouble is getting into the ship."

"Maybe there's a way to send transmissions that will tempt them to chase your ship."

"Like what?"

"Like sending transmissions from one place to another like you're testing a new technology. If they're after technology, it would surely get their attention."

"Yeah, but they would most likely get suspicious if we just sent messages like that without them being encrypted or something."

"That's true, but we could make it in a way that wouldn't be too difficult for them to decipher."

Jim considered that. "The thing is, they're not gonna know we're on that ship when they steal it," he said thoughtfully. He took Alex as they started walking.

"So, you intend to have someone else set the trap and smuggle you onboard the Nausicaan ship?"

"Something like that."

"You just have to figure out how to get onto the ship."

"Right. And we have to figure out what kind of technology would lure them in."

"I'm sure we can think of something."

Jim nodded. "Right now, I'm getting out of this uniform…again, and I'm going back out to the volleyball court. I wonder if Bones and John are still out there."

"Could be."

Jim went back to his room and then he just felt tired. He looked at Alex who was lying on the bed kicking his legs. He smiled. "You keep on doing that exercise," Jim said. He wondered if he should even change out of the dress uniform. He did not like having to get back into the thing. He took the jacket off and the boots, and then lay down on the bed beside Alex. He stared at the ceiling and thought with his hands behind his head. They were about to go on a mission with Klingons, and the agreements between the Federation and the Klingon Empire were not even completely settled. He was not certain he wanted to trust the Klingons to that extent, but he supposed he would have to put his apprehensions aside. The trust had to start somewhere. The Romulans involved in something like this? He knew how formidable the Romulans could be…if Nero was any indication. He wondered if the Nero of his time had been born yet. He had lived in the 24th century in the other time line. He remembered that mind meld with Ambassador Spock. He had seen what happened as though he had been watching it. That was how he knew what the Vulcan ship looked like when he got aboard Nero's ship, and was not surprised at what it looked like, although he had never seen anything quite like it. He certainly remembered how hard Nero had hit him. He supposed that was because he was angry, but it certainly let him know how dangerous Romulans could be, and how strong they are. However, they had not encountered any Romulans on that pirate ship. He wondered if the ship had a name…he could only think of one good one: The Monstrosity. It certainly did not look like any ship he had ever seen. Scotty had not had time to find out what sort of warp drive that ship used, although he had figured out how to bring it to a jolting halt.

Just then, the door chime sounded. Jim sat up. "Enter," he said.

The door opened and Bones came in. "So, what did the admiral want?" he asked.

"I thought you were spending time with Andrea."

"I was, and I will be, but I wanted to come over here and see what kind of trouble we're about to get into."

"How do you know we're about to get into trouble?"

"You went to see the admiral again, and I hear the chancellor was there too."

"Wow. Word sure does travel around through the air."

"Come on. I met Uhura in the hallway. She told me. So what's going on?"

"A lot. Chancellor Gorkon thinks the Romulans are involved in this, as well as another Klingon faction."

Bones sighed as he sat down on the bed. "This gets worse all the time." He put his finger in Alex's hand. "How's the little tike liking this place?"

"Well, he hasn't been crying except when he was hungry," Jim replied. "And when he got tired of sitting in that meeting. Even he got bored."

Bones picked the baby up. "So, we're gonna try to get on that ship? What are the odds that we'll even find it?"

"I don't know, but who said you were going?"

Bones looked at him. "You can't go on a mission like that without a doctor! Besides, you always take me."

"I have to take as few people as possible. We don't want to be separated and have to try and get anyone out."

"So, you're going without me?"

"I didn't say that. I don't even have a plan yet. It looks like we're gonna be working with the Klingons, and if things don't go right, I don't want so many of my crew in danger."

"Jim, I'm used to going with you on these missions."

"You're craving the danger and the action."

"Maybe I am."

"Or are you wanting to get away from Andrea?"

Bones just stood there a moment. "How could you ask me that?"

"I just want to know. You know, if it makes you that uncomfortable, you shouldn't go on with this relationship. I mean, you're gonna hurt her a lot more later than you would right now."

"Who said I want to end the relationship?"

"This is me you're talking to."

"I don't know. It's not that I want to end it, it's just…"

The door chime sounded. Jim sighed as he did not want anyone interrupting this conversation. "Who's there?" he asked.

"It's Andrea."

"Uh…just a minute."

Jim looked at Bones. "We'll talk about this later, Jim," Bones said and gave him the baby. "See you later."

Jim just stood there as Bones left. He lay back down on the bed. He would just take it easy here for a while. He figured he better relax while he could because he had the feeling he was going to be running full speed through an enemy ship again soon…


	7. Chapter 7

After a week, Carol, Spock, and Artemus Gordon, along with some input from Scotty, had created a formula that could be added to a protective suit that would be impervious to the electrical weapon of the Nausicaans. The only thing that had to be done was to create the suit, and it would be rather like the suits that Jim Kirk had worn when he went on his space jumps, although it could be worn without the helmet. The suit would not conduct electricity, and therefore, it could not affect the occupant.

Carol and Spock were overseeing the creation of the suits in the labs of Pacifica. Jim had been to a few more meetings with Chancellor Gorkon and Admiral Winston, and he had talked more with Spock and the others about just exactly what they wanted to do. Uhura had been sending messages out about new technology, and that they would be testing it, and she made sure it looked like a legitimate message which went to a friend of hers on another Federation planet, like it was a friendly message, although it was encrypted. Her friend had gotten the message before that, however, that she would be sending a decoy message, and that she should reply. Uhura thought if this did not get the attention of their pirates, nothing would. Their mouths should be watering.

Jim sat in a conference room with Spock, Scotty, Bones, and Solan. "Once we get inside, we'll be able to move faster this time," Jim said. "Since we have the tricorder data, we can use that to get right back to that control room."

"I suggest we take flash grenades with us, Captain," Spock said. "Although they will not do any damage to the ship, they will blind our enemy, and perhaps it would be valuable to create helmets for the suits that will also have a visor that will darken and protect our vision."

"Might be a good idea. When do we test the suits?"

"At least one should be ready by the end of this week."

"One?"

"Yes, Captain. We thought it better to take our time and create one, get it right, and test it before we waste time making more."

Jim nodded. "Yeah. If it works, can you get the rest done quicker?"

"Absolutely."

"So, while Scotty gets to the control room, what do the rest of us do?" Solan asked.

"Spock will go with Scotty, and you and I will be making our way to the Bridge."

"I've never flown a ship that size. I've never even piloted the Enterprise."

"You're a pilot, Solan. It shouldn't be that hard."

"Don't you think Sulu would do better at this? Maybe we should take him too, and then I can go with Scotty and Spock, while you go with him. It might be better to have three…"

Solan stopped as Jim folded his arms and just stared at him, and the others were looking at him as though he stepped out of a warp field. "Sorry, Captain," Solan said. It was rude to question the captain, especially in front of other people. He knew that…and that was not his job anyway.

"What do you think about that idea, Captain?" Spock asked.

"What idea?" Jim asked.

"Of adding one more person?"

"I'm not sure. We're also going to have Klingons with us. We don't want too many people along because the more who go in, the more we have to get out if things don't go right."

"The Klingons will be formidable foes as well, and they will not be so susceptible to the energy weapons."

"Exactly." Jim looked at Solan. "I know Sulu is a better pilot when it comes to big ships like this, but we need him on the Enterprise in case something does happen, and they can get us off that ship."

"Yes sir," Solan replied. "I'll do whatever you say."

Solan felt fully embarrassed now. Sometimes he forgot that Jim was not just his friend, but his captain as well. He hoped he did not chew him out for that, but he knew he just might.

"What about me?" Bones asked. "What if something happens? What are you gonna do?"

Jim knew Bones did not like the idea that they were leaving him on the Enterprise for this mission. He thought Bones sometimes thought he was his guardian. "You wouldn't be able to help us much until we're back aboard this ship anyway," he said. "And furthermore, you don't need to be injured so it won't be so hard for you to help us."

Bones could not believe Jim was going to leave him behind. He would talk to him after this meeting.

There was not much else to say, so they did not talk much more. "Solan, I want to talk to you," Jim said.

Solan stopped and waited. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to contradict you in front of everyone."

"You're part of this crew now, and you should know better than to try to make up your own plan like that. I know what's best for this mission. I've been thinking about it all week."

"Yes, sir. I'm just not very confident in myself for flying such a large ship."

"Go to Sulu and get some pointers. Let him help you."

Solan nodded. "Yeah. I guess I could do that."

"You could, and don't ever contradict me like that again. I understand your concern but we're gonna do this my way."

"Yes sir."

Jim slapped him on the back as they started walking out of the room. "Relax," he said.

Solan nodded. Bones was waiting out in the hall when Jim came out. Solan went on to find Sulu, and Bones joined Jim as he was leaving that building. "Jim, I can't believe you're leaving me behind," he said.

"Bones, first it's Solan, and now it's you," Jim replied. "Are all of you going to take over and start being the captain?"

"You know better than that. Since when are you so high and mighty that you can't even take a suggestion, or listen to someone who has a different opinion that you?"

"I never said I was high and mighty!"

"Yeah, well, you're sure acting like it!"

"That's just the way you're taking it! I'm the captain of this crew and I'll decide what the best course of action is! I've been doing it for all this time, and you've survived so far!"

"Yes, you have, but you have always listened to suggestions from others on your crew!"

"I have listened. This mission is not going to be like most we've been on. Like I said, we're going to be working with Klingons, and as you should know…I'm rather nervous about that."

Bones just stood there a moment. "Well, Chancellor Gorkon wouldn't send us out with anyone he didn't trust," he said.

"Still, it's just hard. I just don't want too many people on that ship."

"You don't have very much confidence in this plan, do you?"

"Well, you were there. This time we'll be trying to take the ship instead of trying to get out." Jim shook his head. "They'll know where we are, and I'm thinking that if they figure out what we're…"

"What?" Bones asked.

"I've got it."

"Uh oh."

Jim looked at Bones with the smile he usually had when he had a good idea. "Let's go see Mister Gordon," Jim said.

"I gotta hear this," Bones replied as he turned to follow Jim.

Jim went over to the research building where Carol and the others were working. He had been into that building only twice since they started working there. He hardly ever helped with such projects, although he had scientific knowledge. He preferred to let Spock and the others think through all that.

Jim walked into the area where they were working, and they were rather surprised to see him. "Jim, we weren't expecting to see you," Carol said. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I wanted to talk to Mister Gordon," Jim replied.

"Yes sir," Gordon said.

"Mister Gordon, do you remember that gadget that Lieutenant Phillips used on the ship to hide?"

"Yes sir."

"I think we've figured out a way to get around in that ship without being detected. Do you think you could copy that technology into four of those devices?"

"Into the suits?"

Jim considered that. "That would be even better."

Gordon looked at Carol and Spock. Carol smiled, and Spock raised an eyebrow. "That is a very clever plan, Captain," Spock said.

"Thanks, Spock," Jim replied. "Do you think you guys can do it?"

"I think we're about to have a group of suits like none you've ever seen," Carol declared. She kissed Jim. "Don't worry."

"Oh, I'm not worried. I think we're about to have a real plan in place."

Bones folded his arms. "It just might work since they won't be able to detect you," he said.

"It must be good if he agrees."

Carol laughed. "How's Alex?" she asked.

"He's fine," Jim replied. "He's with Andrea right now."

"We'll get to work on that other little addition."

"Great. Just let me know when the suit is ready to test."

"Do you intend to test it?"

"Now, what kind of captain would I be if I wasn't willing to test the suit and depended on one of my crew to do it? I wouldn't ask anyone else to do something that I wouldn't do."

"But if it doesn't work…"

"If it doesn't work, I'll be knocked out, like anyone else would be."

"We'll let you know as soon as we have it ready."

"Good."

Jim left the building, and Bones followed him. "Jim, I'm sorry I argued with you," Bones said.

"Don't worry about it," Jim replied. "We've argued before."

"I just don't think you should go without me. I am the doctor, after all."

"Bones."

"What if something happens?"

"We've already had this argument. No more. That's an order."

They got a transport back to the quarters complex. "I guess I'll go get Andrea and we'll just go hang around some more," Bones said. He folded his arms. "I'm still not sure about this, Jim, but I did tell her that I love her."

Jim smiled. "I think I saw that," he replied.

"I shouldn't have done it."

"Why? Looks like she loves you too."

"She said she did."

"Bones, you are really confusing me," Jim said.

"I'm gonna break up with her," Bones replied.

That was the last thing Jim had thought he would hear. "Why?"

"Because I just can't do this."

"Do what?"

"I may have to take a leave of absence from the ship."

"Come on, Bones."

"I mean it."

The transport stopped and Bones got out. Jim got out and followed him. "Bones, you cannot just end this conversation right there," Jim said. "What's going on with you?"

"You can't help with this," Bones replied. "I'll see you later."

Jim just stood there as Bones walked away. He certainly did not understand all that, but he supposed it was something that he would have to figure out on his own. He just hoped those suits would work when they were created. That was his main concern right now.


	8. Chapter 8

The day finally came when Jim would test the suit that was the prototype of what they would wear on their mission to take the Nausicaan ship…if it was a Nausicaan ship. They were not certain what sort of ship it was, except that they were pirates.

"We're doing this in the holodeck here so that we can have safety protocols on," Carol said.

"How's that going to let you know whether it works or not?" Jim asked.

"Jim, it will work like reality except there's no danger to you, and you won't be knocked unconscious."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright then. What do I do?"

Carol gave him the suit, which was black with gold stripes that extended from the shoulders and met at the waist. "I assume this one will be mine if it works?" Jim asked.

"Of course," Carol replied. "When you wear it, you can remember that I made it, and it's like my love surrounding and protecting you."

Jim just looked at her a moment. "Are you trying to make me feel invincible?"

Carol smiled. "You're so charming sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"Will you just go and put the suit on?"

"You sure you don't want to watch?"

"It might take too long if I do that."

Jim laughed then, but then Spock walked in. Jim cleared his throat. "I'll be out in a minute," he said and went into the next room.

He was out soon with even the helmet on. Carol pressed buttons on the suit. "It's activated now," she said. "Can you breathe okay?"

"Yes," Jim replied. "Feels very comfortable."

"Good. Go into the holodeck, and Spock will use the Nausicaan weapon, and we will also test the black hole device which is built into the suit."

"Are you sure that's the right name for it?"

"Well, it's what Mister Gordon calls it."

"Alright."

Jim and Spock went into the holodeck, and Spock activated the weapon. "It is a relief that you cannot be harmed by this weapon," Spock said.

"If this works in theory, we're gonna test it without the safety protocols on," Jim replied.

"That is not advisable, Captain."

"Noted."

Spock knew Jim was not going to listen to him. "Okay, we're ready," Carol said over the intercom.

Jim stood and waited a moment. "Go ahead," he said.

Spock fired the weapon, and the electrical charge traveled across the deck to Jim. The electrical charge surrounded him, but did not penetrate the suit. Instead, it absorbed into it. Spock even raised an eyebrow at that. "I believe it worked," he said.

Jim and Spock looked toward the observation window where Carol and others were monitoring the effects. "It worked," she said. "And the black hole is working as well."

Jim thought she sounded awfully relieved at that. "Now, let's do it without the safety protocols," he said. "I want to know exactly what happens when I absorb an electrical charge. This is going to be for real when we get on that ship."

"He is right," Spock said. "It would be better to know if there would be any sort of effect so that there will be no surprises."

"Let's do it."

Carol pressed a button in the control room. "The safety protocols are off," she said. She looked down at Jim.

Jim stood there a moment. "Now," he said.

Spock activated the weapon and the electrical charge reached Jim once again. Although the suit protected him, the charge still knocked him off his feet. However, he was fine except for the breath being knocked out of him from falling on his back.

Spock hurried over to him. "Are you alright, Captain?" he asked.

Jim looked up at him and considered that a moment. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

Spock helped him up. "Then the suit truly works."

"Looks like it. That back lick is rough though."

"However, it does no damage."

"Right, and it's something you can overcome fast."

"I believe we have the right formula, Captain."

"Get those other suits ready, and I'll go talk to the admiral."

"We will work quickly."

"Don't worry about quickly. Get it right."

"Yes, Captain."

Jim left the holodeck and Carol met him outside it. "It worked!" she said excitedly. "It actually worked. You didn't show up on the scanners and the weapon was useless."

"Well, not completely useless," Jim said. "But at least I won't be knocked out."

"True."

Jim smiled. "You're not going to work all night, are you?"

"No."

"Good. I think I'll wear this suit to see the admiral so he can see it."

"I guess I can't track you."

Jim chuckled at that. "No, I guess you can't."

They kissed and Jim left. He was rather excited about the suit since it protected against the weapon, and shielded them from scanners. He wondered if a ship that was so advanced could realign its scanners to see a cloaked person. However, he was sure they would not be expecting a cloaked person.

Admiral Winston was very impressed with the suit Jim's team had created, and so was Chancellor Gorkon. He had agreed to use a Klingon K't'inga class ship for the mission, because it was the largest of the Klingon vessels, and the newest model warship. Uhura had sent out messages about new Klingon technology that would make cloaking even better for large ships, although there was none. They were sure the Nausicaans would be tempted by cloaking that could cloak their large ship and give them an even better advantage over their victims. He just hoped the Klingon faction did not know the technology was not real. They were sure there were spies within Gorkon's circle, but did not know who they were. However, there were none in the circle he had on Pacifica.

The goal of those Klingons and those Romulans was that they would be a force against the Federation. They hated the Federation, and did not want it interfering in their way of life. Other Romulans and other Klingons did not agree with that, but saw it as an opportunity to expand.

Jim worked on his plan for the next two weeks, while Carol and the others worked on the suits. The Klingon warriors insisted that they did not need such a suit. Jim supposed they could not argue with them, but they would cooperate together to defeat this ship that seemed to be a menace to the entire galaxy. He just wanted to know what happened to the people who were taken off those captured ships. There had been a few prisoners on the pirate ship but not what he had expected to be there. He did not like the idea of people being taken prisoner and sold as slaves to work in some mine, and he would stop it if he could.

Jim Kirk stood and looked at the large Klingon ship that they would take out into space. He remembered the last time he had been on a Klingon ship…and he had heard all of Bones' predictions that this could be some Klingon trick to get him again, and then they would even have some of his crew members. Jim could not help but think of that right now, but he trusted Chancellor Gorkon, and knew that he would not send them with these Klingons if he did not trust them, and besides Korax was among these Klingons, and he knew they could trust him.

Solan stood beside Jim dressed in his suit already, which had red stripes where Jim's were gold. "I can't believe we're about to climb willingly onto a Klingon ship," Solan said.

"Believe it," Jim replied.

"I have to admit I'm a little nervous about this."

"I am too, but I know we can trust Chancellor Gorkon…and Korax. Neither of them would trick us."

"I agree, Captain," Spock added. "Gorkon seems to hold honor as highly as Vulcans do."

Scotty also stood there beside them. "This is more like a military operation again," he said as he looked at Jim.

"Scotty, let's not go into that again," Jim replied. "If you were out there, wouldn't you want someone to help you if they could?"

"We've helped lots of people, Captain, but we're basically attacking this ship."

"No. They're gonna be attacking us and we're gonna take action like we did the last time."

"But we're luring them, Captain."

"Scotty. I'm not having this argument. We're trying to stop a bunch of pirates who are stealing ships and technology and selling people as slaves. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Of course."

"Alright then. No more arguments. That's an order."

They were all silent. When Jim said _that's an order,_ they knew that was the end of the conversation. Period. It was usually the only way that he exerted his authority, although sometimes he got angry and chewed them out a little.

They followed Jim onto the Klingon ship. "I've always wanted to get into one of these things," Scotty commented.

"Maybe you can learn something about it while we're onboard," Jim said. "Doesn't hurt to know more about…enemies. Not all the Klingons are friendly."

"Yes, Captain."

The five Klingons that they would be working with were waiting for them. They stood proud like any other Klingon they had seen, and they bowed much like the chancellor did when they met him. "I am Grakar," the first one said. "This is Jirrok, Dapodi, and you know Korax and Kor."

"Yes. I'm Jim Kirk. This is Spock, Scotty, and Solan. Is there any indication yet about where the pirate ship is?"

"It has been seen near the border of the Romulan system. We believe they are communing. It is in the neutral zone."

"I suggest we get going that way then," Jim replied. He looked at the star chart. "If we go into that zone, they can arrest us, but the Garadius System is right there. Garadius Four is a good place for us to observe for a while. We can pick up transmissions from the outposts, and maybe we can lure them over there since we can't go into the Neutral Zone."

"I suggest we avoid going into the Neutral Zone at all costs," Spock said. "I do not believe it would benefit us to start another war with the Romulans."

"We won't get into that. We're gonna have to get them to come out."

"How should we do that?"

"I haven't figured that out yet, but we should get on our way."

"We will get started," Grakar said.

Jim, Spock, Scotty, and Solan stood at the star chart a little longer. "If I took my ship into the Neutral Zone and went over to…" Solan began, but he stopped.

Jim just waited for him to go on. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just thought I'd make a suggestion."

"Go ahead."

"No. I'd rather let you make the decisions."

"I will make the decisions, but I want to hear your idea."

"Well, you know that I have no intention of ever stepping on your authority."

"Solan."

"Alright. I just thought if I took my ship and went over into the Neutral Zone, I could go over to Nelvana Three. It's one place that you can spread…news."

"Oh. And you know this…how?"

"Captain, I would prefer not to disclose all of my former behavior."

Scotty almost laughed but he just put his hands behind his back as though he were at attention. Jim glanced at him. "Alright," Jim said. "I know you haven't always had a…sparkling existence but you're trustworthy."

"Thank you, Captain," Solan replied.

"I'm not sure any of us should go into the Neutral Zone. We don't want to alarm the Romulans and scare our quarry away."

"If Solan goes in his ship without appearing to arrive with us, perhaps the Romulans would not be suspicious," Spock said. "He may pick up information which would be useful."

"Yeah, but suppose the Nausicaans find us before he gets back."

"That is an interesting question, and I believe it is one that needs some consideration since this plan involves us all."

"I don't think the Nausicaans will suspect that anyone would be deliberately trying to come aboard that ship," Jim said. "It's not likely that they will even suspect that anyone is looking for them."

"That is also correct. I do not believe they would think that the Federation would be aboard a Klingon vessel of any sort unless they were prisoners themselves."

"Like I said, I don't think they'll suspect a thing, so I really don't think there's a reason why they would suspect Solan of anything." Jim looked at Solan. "Unless he has some past dispute on that planet. Are you sure you don't have any enemies on that planet?"

"Well, not exactly," Solan said. "But I'm sure I can get rumors started there."

"We don't need another situation to have to deal with. I'd rather just go with the plan we have. Uhura has been sending communications. They may be waiting for us. The Romulan Star Empire doesn't want the peace negotiations between the Klingons and the Federation any more than the rebel Klingons do."

They all sat down to wait for launch. "Captain, I believe we could acquire help from the Democratic Romulan Republic as well," Spock said. "They have long been considered rebels. However, they do not agree with the Romulan Star Empire. I'm sure you know some of the history of the Romulans and Vulcans."

"Some," Jim replied.

"The Romulan Star Empire did not agree with the Vulcan ways of controlling one's emotions and logical thinking. However, the new faction has attempted to reestablish connection with Vulcan since we are of the same ancestry. The dominant Empire finds it disturbing that the rebellion wants to break away."

"I guess they don't like losing control."

"If that is an attempt at humor…it is not funny."

"Sorry. But I guess they haven't lost all their Vulcan instincts. You can change your species name but you can't change where you come from."

"That is true. However, the Vulcans do not wish to dominate another."

"I know."

"You are hoping that there is a way to make peace with Romulus."

"Can't stop hoping."

The ship was soon at warp, and they would be at Garadius IV in five days. "Five days on a Klingon ship," Solan said. "What all do you suppose Scotty will learn in that length of time?"

"Why don't you go find out?" Jim asked.

"Maybe I will."

Solan went to find Scotty. Spock was silent a moment. "You are worried about this mission," he said.

"How can I help it?" Jim asked. "I think we'll be successful, but there's always the chance that something can go wrong."

"As it is with any mission. Human preoccupation with the unknown is quite…disturbing. One must simply wait to see what will happen, and plan for the unexpected."

"Right. But I'm responsible for everyone on this mission."

"You should try meditation."

"Come on, Spock. You've tried to get me to meditate before. It just doesn't work. I get more frustrated trying to do that than just worrying."

"That is because you do not try. You think it won't work, and therefore, it does not."

"What? Should I try to go into some Vulcan trance?"

"There is always sedation."

Jim shook his head. "Just let me worry." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He could not stop thinking about the mission and what they would be doing.


	9. Chapter 9

Jim Kirk stood on the Bridge of the Klingon ship as they were orbiting Garadius IV. He had notified the Federation outposts along the border that they were there and needed information. He had talked to two individuals who seemed to be fascinated that he, Captain James T. Kirk, was there at the edge of Federation space. He thought they were well up to date on their news feeds. He also supposed there was not much to do out there on the corner of the galaxy.

Spock came onto the deck where Jim stood looking out into space. "Captain, a ship has been detected," Spock said. "On its present course and speed, it should arrive at our location within two days."

"Two days," Jim said. "Are they not trying to hide their course?"

"They are leaving no ion trail. However, the outposts have detected the ship since we provided them with specifications about that particular ship."

"So, they're predicting their course."

"Yes."

"If they are coming this way, they will intercept us?"

"Yes, Captain. I believe once the ship enters this system, they will be able to detect it since it does not have cloaking devices."

"And it's likely they want what we have. We should be preparing in case they arrive earlier than we think."

"I will inform the others."

Jim nodded. He stood looking out into space as Spock left the room. The ruse had worked…or they had to assume it had. Why else would the Nausicaans be coming that way? But what had they been doing on the edge of Romulan space? If there were Romulans on that ship…well, they were prepared for anything, and there was no turning back now.

After two days, Jim and the others knew the ship was coming that way. The outpost had detected the ship when it came out of warp, and it was still moving that way. "Captain, should we at least pretend to put up a fight?" Spock asked.

"Probably," Jim said. "If we just let them pull us in, they might get suspicious, but I want us to have our suits activated when they grab the ship…and uh, I think we should be sitting down."

"I agree."

Jim remembered the last time they encountered that ship. He, Spock, and Bones had made a connection with the floor and almost with the helm. It was definitely a sudden stop. They had been pretending to analyze the atmosphere and soil of the planet they were orbiting, but they had also sent fake reports about a new technology they were working on and would test it while they were there in the Neutral Zone. It was a trap that they thought their prey was flying into.

Jim went to the Bridge where the three Klingons were. "Are you detecting the ship yet?" Jim asked.

"Not yet," Grakar replied.

"We didn't detect it on the Enterprise until they were about five minutes away."

"It is possible that it shall be the same way this time."

"They must have something that hides them for a certain distance."

"Five minutes is enough time to escape, however. I believe that is why they would think it a privilege to capture a Klingon ship and obtain its cloaking technology."

"That's what we're hoping."

It was two more hours before they began detecting the Nausicaan ship. "It is moving this way fast, Captain Kirk," Grakar said.

"We're ready," Jim replied.

"They will not get any information from us."

"I don't like using you guys for decoys, but…"

"A Klingon never turns from danger or a fight. We will fight with honor."

Jim nodded. "Well, I hope our mission will be successful," he said.

Jim went back to the emergency hatch where Spock, Solan, and Scotty were waiting. "They're coming," he said.

"Looks like our trap worked," Solan replied. "How long till they get here?"

"I don't know, but they're coming."

After a few more minutes, an alarm began blaring in the ship. Jim and the others sat down so that they would not be thrown off their feet this time. Suddenly, the ship shuddered just as violently as the Enterprise had.

"We are caught in their tractor beam, Captain Kirk," Grakar said over the intercom.

"We gathered that," Jim replied. "Let's get our plan started."

"As you say…good luck."

"Thanks."

The Klingons began firing at the other ship, as Klingons would. Jim and the others had already activated their suits so they would not be detected on the ship. They now moved over to the hatch where they would escape the Klingon ship while the Klingons kept the attention of the others. Jim hoped the Klingons would not be killed in this ruse. He hated the thought of that. The Klingons were proud and he could understand why some of them fought against changes.

The Klingon ship was shuddered again as it was placed on the deck of the Nausicaan pirate ship. "Well, at least we know we're down," Jim said.

They listened and waited. "You should make your exit now, Captain Kirk," Grakar said. "They are coming toward the back of the ship."

Just as Grakar said that, the ship was shaken as the Nausicaans managed to get the boarding ramp down. Jim opened the hatch and looked out. He did not see anyone so he climbed out and dropped to the floor. Spock, Solan, and Scotty also dropped out. Jim looked at them and nodded.

Spock and Scotty headed for what they knew was the control area of the ship, and Jim and Solan headed for the front of the ship where the Bridge was. Jim was glad Scotty would know how to get the ship started again if they could manage to get to the Bridge and take it over. He knew those Klingons would give the Nausicaans a fight like they never had.

Grakar and the other four Klingons were waiting for the Nausicaans when they came up the boarding ramp. "You bring only six against us?" Grakar asked with malice and pride. "You humiliate us!"

"You will not win this battle!" Heegat said. He activated his lance, but the Klingons were expecting that, and they were not so susceptible to electrical charges.

As the electrical charge came toward them, Grakar, Jirrok, and the other three Klingons, Korax, Dapodi, and Kor, made their charge, managing to jump clear of the electricity, and landing so close to Heegat that he had to back up. Grakar shoved Heegat back down the boarding ramp, and then drew his bat'leth. "Your puny lance will not win this battle for you!" Grakar declared.

Heegat drew a knife that looked a lot like the one Jim had seen being made on Magus III. Only Korax knew that, however, but he would make sure their new friend had that information. He supposed this Nausicaan was who Kyarn had been making that knife for.

Grakar walked down the boarding ramp to the deck where Heegat was waiting. "You will never win," Heegat declared.

"We shall see," Grakar replied not letting his confidence waver. He did not know what else these beings had in store, but they did not know of Captain Kirk and the others either.

Spock and Scotty crawled into the access tunnels again so that they could get to the control room again without having to go directly through all the corridors. "Oh, I hope I get to have something to do with the design of the next ship!" Scotty declared. "There will be no crawling!"

"This is not the time for complaining, Mister Scott," Spock replied. "We must focus on our mission, and we do not know whether we will meet up with any enemies on our way."

"Right, but at least we know where we're going this time."

"It is an advantage."

"What if they're expecting us?"

"I do not believe that is logical. They do not know we are here with the Klingons, and our suits make us undetectable."

Jim and Solan were moving down a corridor that they had not been in before because they were heading for the Bridge. They knew when the ship went to warp. "Well, we're caught now," Solan said.

"Don't worry," Jim replied. "Mister Scott can stop the ship."

They came around another corridor, and met up with five Nausicaans…and three Romulans! Jim was more than surprised, but he and Solan fired at them and then got back around the corner. "Jim, I think we're in trouble," Solan said.

"Oh? What makes you think that?" Jim asked.

"I have a feeling we're heading for Romulan space."

"You had to say it, didn't you?"

Jim fired around the corner, but barely missed getting hit himself. "I think it might be time to utilize the access tunnels," he said. "You see one?"

Solan looked down the corridor they were in. "I do."

"Get to it and get it open. I'll keep them down there for a minute."

Solan hurried down the corridor to the access tunnel opening. Jim fired around the corner again, and hit one of the Romulans and then one of the Nausicaans. He continued firing until Solan got the panel open, and then he ran and crawled in. They got the hatch closed and then damaged the controls so it could not be opened again.

"They're gonna know about where we are," Solan declared as they were crawling away.

"They can't track us," Jim said.

"Yeah, but they can guess where we're going."

"I don't know. Once Scotty starts pulling chips, they're gonna have more trouble than they want."

"Jim, those were Romulans."

"I know. I know. We're prepared for the unexpected. Once those shields are down, the Enterprise can come in from Kolarus Three. We're not letting this ship get away again."

Spock and Scotty were trying to hurry to get to the controls, but they thought they might have a harder time getting to the controls this time. Spock was again recording with the tricorder to get more data on the ship. The tricorder was within the suit so that it would be masked as well, and it was passing data information to him on his display.

"Mister Spock, what if there are more of them this time?" Scotty asked.

"We will do what we must," Spock said. "We have brought more than one type of weapon this time."

"This thing is like crawling through an endless network of sewers."

Spock scowled at that comment. "When have you been in a network of sewers?" he asked.

"Oh never mind."

"I believe there are many things that this crew does not know of one another."

"I'm sure there are. We haven't always had a cushy job."

"Is that what you call it?"

"Well, it's not all that hard just watching over the engines. It's kinda a fun job."

"If one enjoys their job, they are where they should be. However, to have a job which benefits others should be reward enough."

"Oh, that's the Vulcan way of looking at it."

"It is the logical way to look at it."

"Don't tell me that you don't enjoy making some new discovery."

"New discoveries are simply something that may be of benefit, or help to avoid trouble."

Scotty shook his head. "Well, excuse me for being a little excited."

"I have learned to overlook human emotion. We should turn to the right at the next branch."

"Great."

Jim and Solan were also using data to find their way to the Bridge. "The Bridge is definitely up there," Jim said. "Looks like there are about five in there too."

"How are we going to manage that?" Solan asked.

"Very carefully. I think that's where we'll be using a flash grenade. It'll take them all out at once. We can't risk a fire fight on the Bridge and damage any vital systems."

"I agree."

On the Enterprise, Sulu and the others were monitoring the situation. "We can't go across the Neutral Zone," Sulu said.

"If the Romulans came across it, they're violating the treaty," Carol declared.

"That doesn't mean we can cross it. Admiral Winston didn't say anything about violating the treaty."

"How can we help them if we don't cross it?"

"Maybe they won't need our help. If they take control of that ship, they can bring it back across."

"I certainly hope so."

Jim and Solan had reached the corridor outside the Bridge. The tricorder did not detect anyone so they crawled out of the access tunnel. Jim held his blaster ready while Solan crawled out and closed the access hatch. "It's way too quiet on this ship!" Solan said.

"I know," Jim replied. "But it's obviously designed to have a minimal crew, and they don't expect anyone to try and take it over."

"They think they're invincible."

"Won't they be surprised?"

They moved on toward the Bridge which was about twenty feet away from where they were. Jim stopped at the corner when they reached the short corridor behind the Bridge. He and Solan moved slowly toward the doors that led onto the Bridge and looked in through the small portals. "How can they not be expecting any trouble?" Solan asked.

"Maybe they do," Jim replied. "They're just not worried about it."

"We're not!" someone said from behind them.

Jim and Solan whirled around but before they could fire at their new adversaries, they were hit with a charge from one of the lances of the Nausicaan. Jim and Solan were knocked off their feet, but were not unconscious, of course. The Nausicaan was visibly surprised, and his surprise gave Jim the time he needed to fire at him.

Two other Nausicaans, and two Romulans got back around the corner before they were hit. "We have to get onto that Bridge, now!" Jim said. "You go! I'll take care of these!" He pulled a flash grenade from his pack.

Solan pulled one himself and opened the doors to the Bridge. "Catch!" he yelled and threw the flash grenade.

There were two Romulans on that Bridge with the three Nausicaans, but they were caught offguard, and Solan supposed they had thought the ones in the corridor would take care of the intruders. Solan's face shield worked just like it was supposed to and shielded his eyes from the flash of the grenade. He grabbed his blaster as the two Romulans had jumped for cover, knowing what he had thrown into the middle of the Bridge.

One of the Romulans fired at Solan and knocked the blaster from his hand. He dived for it, but the Romulan tackled him. Solan managed to kick him off and they both came to their feet. However, the other Romulan was also about to join the fight. Solan pulled out the sword he had brought with him, and they pulled out their own.

"Well, long time, no see, Solan," one of the Romulans said.

"I thought you were dead, Nitat," Solan replied.

"Ha! I would have thought you were dead too!"

Jim came in the door of the Bridge and saw what was happening. The other Romulan turned to him with his sword. Jim had not been counting on this, but he drew his own sword, hoping that he would not get his suit damaged. "Captain Kirk," the Romulan said. "You have a very famous face."

"I can't say the same about you," Jim replied.

The Romulan glared at him. "I am Ireese, and I will slaughter you. That is when my fame will be spread."

"We'll see."

Suddenly, Nitat made a lunge for Solan, and Ireese followed suit toward Jim. The fight for the Bridge had begun…

Spock and Scotty were almost to their own destination. "It seemed like it was much further the last time," Scotty said.

"That was simply because we did not know where we were going the last time," Spock replied.

They came to the hatch that they had to exit to get out into the corridor outside the control room. "I have to get behind that panel," Scotty said.

"I will attempt to use a flash grenade to stop them," Spock replied. "It is obvious that the captain has not taken the Bridge yet, or we would have stopped by now."

"He probably ran into trouble."

They got out of the access tunnel and moved down the corridor toward the control room. Spock was surprised as they looked in. They leaned back against the wall. "Klingons?" Scotty said. "There are Klingons in there!"

"I see that, Mister Scott," Spock replied. "Your main concern is getting to the control board."

"You can't fight all those Klingons and…Romulans alone!"

"I do not intend to fight them all. I am about to give them a severe headache."

Spock pulled out a flash grenade. "As soon as I throw this, and they are distracted, make your move."

Scotty hoped that was a good plan, but he would do what he was told. Spock got ready. "Now!" he whispered. He shoved the door to the control room open and threw the flash grenade in.

The occupants of the control room were surprised, but some of them jumped for cover as the grenade burst into a bright light. "Now, Mister Scott!" Spock said as he ran into the control room.

Scotty got through the door and went through the narrow passage that led to the control board. However, it was not unoccupied. He grabbed his own blaster and fired at the two who were there. One of them escaped his fire, and fired back. Scotty barely escaped the laser shot.

Spock was facing two Romulans and two Klingons. However, he relieved two of them of the trouble of protecting the control room. The other two were firing back at him, but there was also a Nausicaan left. He activated the electrical charge from his lance, and Spock was knocked off his feet, although he was not directly out in the open. He lost his blaster for a moment and scrambled for it. However, that was all the Klingon needed, and he ran toward Spock, but he was not unprepared.

Spock drew another smaller blaster and fired at the Klingon. The shot stopped the Klingon but he was not hurt bad enough to stop his charge. He pulled his bat'leth off his back and used it to deflect Spock's next shot. Spock barely escaped being cut by the bat'leth as he rolled away from the Klingon and managed to get his blaster once again. He fired without hesitation and did not miss this time. The surviving Romulan got out of Spock's line of fire, and allowed the Nausicaan to send another electrical charge at Spock.

Spock braced himself but it knocked him down once again, but he did not let his blaster go this time and fired at the Nausicaan who managed to get out of the way. The Romulan, however, had managed to get behind Spock, and now grabbed him from behind. Spock knew he would be in serious trouble if the Nausicaan got there and started helping his ally.

Scotty was in a battle of strength with a Nausicaan who had managed to give him a bloody nose and mouth as they struggled over the lance. Scotty shoved his opponent into the console behind him, which caused a few sparks to fly. Scotty did not claim to be a fighter, but he had to admit he had been in a few barroom brawls in his time.

Spock rammed his elbow into the Romulan's mid-section, but that did not cause the Romulan to lose his grip. He squeezed Spock's neck harder, but Spock managed to flip him over his shoulder, which broke his choke hold. He then dived for his weapon and fired at the Nausicaan who was almost to him now.

The Romulan grabbed Spock's arm, bending it backward before he could fire again. However, Spock punched him in the throat with his left fist. The Romulan did not lose his grip on Spock's arm, but lost a little of his power over it, and Spock took that opportunity to aim the blaster right at his head. The Romulan fell on the deck, but Spock's troubles were not over yet…

Jim landed on his back with the Romulan trying to drive a long-bladed knife into his chest, but Jim had hold of his arm with both hands, and he got one of his feet up and shoved Ireese off. He was not down for long, and Jim got back to his feet. He drew the dagger that Solan had given him before…and he remembered well the last time he had used it in that fight with Totrak, although he had not had to use it except for defense.

Jim's and Ireese's blades clanged together, sounding much like swords as they struggled to win dominance over the Bridge of the ship. Jim thought more would be coming because of the alarm that was still blaring in the ship. He swung his blade at Ireese who dodged it and tried to get around to Jim's left and would have plunged the blade into his side, but Jim rolled to his side, and then Ireese charged at him again, but Jim swung his blade at him as he was charging, causing him to have to dodge to the left.

Jim would have never thought a Romulan could move that fast, but this one almost sank his blade into the back of Jim's thigh before he moved. While Jim was off-balance, Ireese came at him, and would have slit his throat if Jim had not gotten his blade up fast enough, but Ireese pushed him back three steps. He knew how strong Romulans were, but he was determined that this one would not win, and he had fought Romulans before…not that he had very much success.

Jim pushed back with all his might, and Ireese said something to him in the Romulan language that he thought sounded almost as bad as a Klingon threat. "Same to you!" he said and shoved back as hard as he could.

Ireese had to take a step back, which he did not like. He shoved back, and Jim stumbled, but he got his footing back. Ireese tried to stab him in the side, but Jim avoided that once again, and managed to stab his own blade into Ireese's leg just above his knee. He felt the blade connect with bone, and Ireese yelled out and fell on the deck.

Jim watched him a split second to see if he would get back up, but then he saw that Solan was fighting a battle as hard as the one he had just fought. Jim looked at Ireese again, and then glared at him as he jerked his own blade out which was now covered in green blood. He backed away from him as he saw that Ireese most likely would not get up from that wound now. He ran to help Solan. Jim thought more could be coming, and he wanted them to be done with the ones that were there.

Grakar and the other Klingons had fought hard against the Nausicaans, but Heegat had managed to get away. Now, Grakar, Korax, and Kor were making their way to the Bridge, while Jirrok and Dapodi headed for the control room.

Jim had never been so glad to see anyone when Grakar entered the Bridge along with the other two Klingons. Three more Romulans had come onto the Bridge, and another Nausicaan as well, and he and Solan were overwhelmed just trying to stay alive. However, they had managed to get a blaster out, and took out one of the Romulans.

Grakar was behind the Romulans who were left, and he wasted no time attacking. Jim looked at Solan. "Let's go!" Jim said. They ran to the controls, and could see that it was coded. "We can't stop until Scotty gets that control board down!"

Jim grabbed his communicator. "Mister Scott!" he said, but he did not get an answer. "Mister Scott!"

"Oh, they must have run into trouble," Solan said.

Jim was torn between holding the Bridge and going to help Spock and Scotty, but he knew the other Klingons had most likely gone that way…

Jirrok and Dapodi met up with more Romulans and Nausicaans on their way to the control room, but they had not been held up much. They were running for the control room now, and when they entered, they found Spock fighting with two Romulans who had entered the control room after he had beaten the other one.

Jirrok pointed to the area where the control board was, and Dapodi nodded. He would see what was keeping Mister Scott from his goal. As Dapodi entered the area, Scotty was trying to hold off the Nausicaan. Dapodi took over the fight so that Scotty could go on about his important business. The Nausicaan tried to get to Scotty to stop him, but Dapodi was a formidable foe, as were most Klingons.

Scotty got over to the control board and removed the cover. He rubbed his hands together. He hoped he could study the isolinear optical chips. He remembered which he had pulled to stop the ship, so he braced himself, and pulled it.

Jim was thrown off his feet as the ship came to a jolting halt. Solan would have been too if he had not been sitting in the chair. They heard that same loud sound they had heard the other time, and they knew Scotty had managed to pull the right chip.

Grakar and the others were also thrown off their feet, but it was all they needed to finish with their opponents. He went over to Jim who had just stood up. "I'm glad you're on our side," Jim said.

"A Klingon likes a good fight," Grakar replied.

Jim smiled and hurried back over to Solan. "I can get into the controls now," Solan said.

Jim grabbed his communicator again. "Scotty!"

"Yes sir!" Scotty answered. "Sorry about that jolt, Captain. Do we have control of the ship now?"

"We're working on that. Is there anything we don't have control of now? Scan this ship if you can and find out if there's anyone else onboard!"

"Working on that, Captain!"

Dapodi had joined Jirrok, and they had taken out the other Romulans, and helped Spock up. "I am certainly glad that you arrived when you did," Spock said.

Scotty looked around the corner of the control board. "Mister Spock, we have to get control of the scanners!" he exclaimed.

Spock ran over to the control boards, but it was all unfamiliar to him. However, he realized some of it was in Romulan language…and that was not unfamiliar to him. He found the scanners, and got them going. He took out his communicator. "Captain," he said.

"Yeah," Jim answered.

"There are ten other beings on the ship, and five of them are heading your way. It also seems that there are more in the prison area of this ship."

"We'll take care of them later. Right now, we have to focus on the threats. Kirk out!"

Jim looked at the Klingons. "There are five more coming this way," he said. "We don't know if they're Romulan or Nausicaan." He took a flash grenade from his pack. "We can use this against them. Maybe it'll make short work of them."

"We will take care of them," Grakar said.

Korax walked over to Jim. "I have some interesting information," Korax said.

"Will it affect our situation now?" Jim asked.

"No. I will tell you later."

"Great."

Jim hurried back over to Solan who was still trying to get helm control. "Scotty, why don't we have helm control yet?" Jim asked.

"Not figured that out yet, Sir!" Scotty replied. "Give us time!"

"We don't have time! We're in the Neutral Zone! We have to get out of here before some Romulan bird of prey shows up!"

"I'm working on it, Sir. I'm working on it!"

Solan was looking over the controls. He wished more than ever that the captain had brought Mister Sulu with him. "Any contact from the Enterprise?" he asked.

"No," Jim said. "They're waiting for us to contact them. They can't come into the Neutral Zone."

"The Romulans aren't supposed to be here either, but they're here!"

"That doesn't mean the Enterprise is going to."

"I think this is a bit of an emergency! What if…"

"This is no time for arguments!"

Scotty was working on the controls which had shut down when he stopped the ship so suddenly. "Sir, it's going to take time to get the engines back online," he said over the communicator. "You can imagine how much power it takes! Once they're back online, he'll have helm control."

"How long will that take?" Jim asked.

"Maybe two hours!"

Jim's mouth dropped open with that news. "Two hours?"

"Yes sir!"

"That's two hours in the Neutral Zone! Can you get impulse engines?"

"I'm trying!"

"Let us know if you get anything!"

"Yes sir!"

Just then, the five who had been coming toward the Bridge burst through the doors. "Now!" Jim yelled.

Grakar was hiding since he had to use the flash grenade. He threw it at the newcomers, and it exploded with a blinding flash that would have blinded them all if they had not been protecting their eyes. Jim's shield worked and he could see what happened to the ones who were in direct proximity to the flash grenade. They were all knocked unconscious, and were blinded.

Jim just let the Klingons take care of the newcomers and he stood with Solan. They realized the scanners were working now. "At least we can see if any other ships are coming," Jim said.

"I don't see anything," Solan replied. "What do we do if we see anything?"

Grakar came over to them. "If we see anything, we can take our ship and defend this one until the engines are online," he suggested.

Korax also came over to Jim. "What were you wanting to tell me earlier?" Jim asked.

"You remember Kyarn, do you not?" Korax asked.

"Yes."

"You remember the blade he had?"

"That long one that looked almost like a machete?"

"That one. It seems our Nausicaan enemy had that blade. Heegat."

"Where is Heegat?"

"He was not in this group of attackers."

"He can't hide himself in some way, can he?"

"I do not know, my friend."

Spock, Jirrok, and Dapodi were waiting when the group of attackers came into the control room. Spock used a flash grenade as well, and it did its work well. "I believe it would benefit us to put all these survivors into the Brig along with whomever they have there now," Spock said.

"It will be difficult since they are unconscious," Jirrok replied. "I do not believe they will be able to see once they are awake."

Just then, Spock's communicator beeped again. "Spock here," he answered.

"Spock, have the other five attackers reached you?" Jim asked.

"Yes, Captain."

"Was there a Nausicaan with them?"

"There are two, Captain."

"Ask the Klingons if one of them is Heegat."

Spock looked at the Klingons who moved to look at the two Nausicaans. "He is not here," Jirrok said. He looked at Spock. "Is there a problem?"

"We need to find him!" Jim said. "He could be trying to steal the Klingon ship or he could have another ship to escape in. Scan the ship again."

Spock did another scan but he could see no other beings. "There is no one else on the ship, Captain."

Jim considered that. "The shields are down," he said. "Could he have transported off the ship?"

"I do not know where to find the transporter records."

"Look for it. If he didn't get off this ship, he's here somewhere…and if he did." Jim looked at the scanners again. "If he got off this ship, there's a cloaked ship out there somewhere."

"I believe it would be wise if we have our ship on standby," Grakar said.

"You may be right, but be careful. Heegat could be anywhere. If he can conceal himself someway…"

"We will be careful."

Grakar and Korax headed for their ship, and Kor stayed to help Jim in case someone else showed up. Kor did not talk, but he understood when someone talked to him. He stood guarding without moving. Jim thought maybe they were not the only ones who could conceal themselves. Maybe the Nausicaans had other technology that they did not know about.


	10. Chapter 10

Grakar and Korax arrived at the Klingon ship that was onboard the pirate ship. The boarding ramp was still closed so they did not believe Heegat had gotten into the ship. Grakar had met Heegat when they first got onto the ship, but he had escaped. "Heegat is a coward," Grakar said as they looked around the ship.

"Where would he go?" Korax wondered.

"It is a large ship." Grakar stopped a moment. "The Vulcan said there are others in the Brig. What better place to hide than among the prisoners, and then he will be transferred with the rest?"

"Ah. He may be a coward, but he is also sneaky."

"Perhaps we should go and secure all the prisoners."

"That is a good idea."

Grakar took out his communicator. "Captain Kirk," he said.

"Kirk here," Jim answered.

"I believe we know the location of our runaway Nausicaan."

"Where?"

"We think he has joined the prisoners in the Brig."

Jim was silent a moment. "That's good thinking," he said. "Are you at the Brig?"

"Not yet. We intend to secure those prisoners."

Jim tried not to laugh at that. "That's a good idea."

"We wouldn't want any of them to have long bladed knives."

Jim had never thought of a Klingon having a sense of humor. "Yeah. They don't need anything like that. We'll keep trying to get this ship going."

"Do not worry."

Scotty had gotten the chips back in the right place, and he was investigating the warp drive and the engines. "This thing is amazing," he said to Spock. "This rotating thing makes power."

"I see," Spock replied. "Do you still believe it will take two hours to get it operational again?"

"Most likely. It has to power up. After all, it's a large ship, Laddy…I mean, Commander."

"We should work on the shields then. I do not believe we can stay here in the Neutral Zone without having trouble."

"I'll get to work on that now."

On the Enterprise, Uhura had tried to reach Jim and the others but had not gotten a response. "What would the captain want us to do?" she asked.

"He'd want us to stay right here, I'm sure," Bones replied. He hated not knowing what was going on. "I guess since we haven't received any distress calls, maybe they're okay."

"Unless the captain calls us, we're supposed to stay right here," Sulu reminded them. "I'm sure he'll let us know when they start moving. John, are you detecting any ships?"

John shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "No transmissions either except from the outpost, and they haven't detected anything."

"Maybe that's a good sign. At least they're not being attacked."

Grakar and Korax made their way to the Brig, which was in the back part of the ship. "Suppose he has recruited some help in there?" Korax asked.

"I do not believe any prisoners would want to help their captor," Grakar replied. "But we will be cautious."

"He could have supplied them with weapons."

"Not a wise move."

"He may have promised them freedom."

"Perhaps, but he will not have freedom for long himself."

Grakar looked at the controls on the door that went into the Brig. He drew his bat'leth as did Korax, and then pressed the button to open the door. The frightened looks on the faces of the prisoners at seeing Klingons come in was enough to tell them that they would not be facing a fight. The prisoners were still in cuffs.

Grakar looked at all the prisoners, and his gaze fell on one in particular which had a hood over his face, and kept his head down. "You!" Grakar yelled. The being did not move.

Grakar moved over to the being keeping his bat'leth ready, because he remembered that long blade that Heegat had brandished. "Stand up," Grakar said.

"Why?" the being asked.

"Do you question me?"

Suddenly, the being, which was Heegat, drew out that long-bladed knife at the same time that he jumped to his feet. However, Grakar had been expecting that, and avoided getting impaled on the knife.

Heegat knew exactly how to get out of the prison area through a secret hatch at the other end of the room, and he did just that. Grakar and Korax just stood there as they had been surprised at how fast Heegat moved. Grakar did not like that he had escaped them again, but he would have to tell Captain Kirk.

Jim answered the communicator and Grakar told him that Heegat had escaped through a secret hatch, and he could hear that Grakar was not happy about it. "He can't get off the ship," Jim said. "So he'll have to show up eventually."

"I apologize for letting him escape," Grakar replied. "It was a failure."

"Well, it happens. We'll keep an eye out for him on the scanners. We just have to make sure he doesn't get to any of the controls."

"We will find him."

The transmission ended, and Jim thought Heegat would be in serious trouble if Grakar found him again. He had heard the menace in his voice. Klingons did not like to be outwitted or beaten in a fight.

"If I was that Heegat, I'd keep myself in those tunnels," Solan remarked. "He's liable to end up on the wrong end of a bat'leth."

"Maybe we can take him prisoner and find out who all's involved in this," Jim replied.

"You better not let Grakar find him then."

"Maybe I should help them. I'm not doing any good standing here anyway. You let me know if anything happens."

"I will."

Jim looked at Kor. "Just stay here and help Solan if anyone shows up," Jim said.

Kor slapped his fist across his chest and nodded. Jim nodded as well and ran off the Bridge. He was thinking…where would Heegat go if he wanted to cause them trouble? He wished they had someone around who knew more about that ship, but he would have to rely on Scotty. He took out his communicator. "Scotty."

"Yes sir," Scotty answered. "Still more than an hour, Sir."

"I know. If Heegat wanted to cause us trouble, where would he go besides where you are?"

Scotty considered that. "I don't know much about the layout of this ship, Sir, but I have been studying a schematic of the ship, and there is a central computer core. If he wanted to try and delay the ship getting started, he could do it there."

"Send that schematic to me. There are two Klingons there with you guys, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Have them stay there, and have Spock meet me at the central computer core."

"Aye, Captain."

Jim started running as he was pulling up the schematic of the ship on his tricorder. He could see where the central computer core was, and it was under the area he was in now. The big ship…for lack of a better name, had corridors that wound around to the lower levels rather than having turbo lifts. The Enterprise was basically the same way. One could get where they were going without taking a turbo lift, although it took much longer. He thought the Nausicaans were fast since Heegat managed to evade the Klingons twice.

As Jim neared the area where the main computer core was, he drew his blaster. The corridor he was now in was dark, and he wondered if Heegat had cut the power there. None of the other corridors had been dark. He took out his communicator again. "Spock," he said quietly as he stopped for a moment.

"Yes Captain," Spock answered.

"Where are you?"

"I am in the corridor at the back of the main computer core."

"Is it dark?"

"Yes."

"I think Heegat has cut the power to the lights down here. Are Nausicaans nocturnal?"

"I do not know."

"Be careful."

Jim put his communicator away and turned the light on that he had around his wrist. He would not go into this without seeing where he was going, and he hoped he would see Heegat before he was rushing at him with that long blade. It was so quiet in that corridor, he could hear nothing but his own breathing, and he was plenty nervous. He moved on down the corridor slowly, and he realized it was rather warm in there as well. He thought that might be from the computer core.

Jim finally came to a fork in the corridor. He looked both ways but did not see anything. He had a feeling that this was where Heegat had departed to so he moved to the right. He moved on to the next junction in the tunnel, which only had a fork to the left. He stopped at the corner, and then looked around the corner, and was incredibly startled as Spock was there at the corner as well. Jim thought he looked just a little startled.

"I did not see anything, Captain," Spock said quietly.

"Neither did I," Jim replied. "But something's going on down here."

"I believe you are correct. However, we must be cautious since we are very close to the computer core. He could irradiate us."

"Not without irradiating himself."

"Unless he has some way of doing it without being in the same place."

"If he messes that thing up, we might not be able to get this ship out of here."

"That is true, but if we are irradiated, we will not get it out of here anyway."

"Don't you think our suits would protect us?"

"I am not sure."

"Let's get moving and see if we can find him."

Jim took his communicator out again. "Mister Scott," he said quietly.

"Yes Captain," Scotty answered.

"Scan this area around the computer core and see if you're picking up any life signs down here. You shouldn't be able to see Mister Spock and me."

Scotty did the scan. "The core is creating interference, Captain. I'm not getting anything around the area directly outside it."

"We're not far from it now. Stand by."

Jim and Spock moved on down the next corridor which would go into the main area. They assumed that the computer core would be contained as the one on the Enterprise was. However, when they arrived, they were surprised to see that this ship did not have a computer core like the one on the Enterprise, although it was still generating heat. "What is this?" Jim asked.

"It is obviously a new form of computer core that does not require it to be housed," Spock said.

"It's not radioactive?"

"Apparently not, or we would now be fried."

"Okay then…"

Jim and Spock noticed a console that had a counter on it. They hurried over to it. **SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED.** Jim looked at Spock, not sure what to say. The counter had five minutes on it. "Can we stop it?" Jim asked.

"Captain, I do not believe we have the time to try," Spock replied.

Jim grabbed his communicator as they were running to get back to the deck. "Everyone evacuate!" Jim yelled. "The ship is set to self-destruct! Get to the ship!"

Solan jumped up from the helm and looked at Kor. "Let's go!" Solan said.

Scotty and the two Klingons with him hurried from the control room, and Grakar and Korax were already almost to the ship. They got there first and got the boarding ramp down. They ran to the front to get the ship ready for flight.

Jim and Spock arrived at the ship at almost the same time as Solan and Scotty, and the others with them. They all ran into the ship. "We have to get those prisoners!" Jim yelled.

"We are working on that," Grakar said. "We are locked onto them."

They transported the prisoners to their Brig, and then lifted the ship off the deck. The Klingon ship got out just in time as the pirate ship exploded. However, the wave from the destruction caused their ship to spin and flip over, but it was not damaged.

Jim pulled his helmet off as he was feeling a little claustrophobic and almost gasping for air. "That was close," he said.

"How did you discover that it was on self destruct?" Solan asked.

"We saw the console with five minutes on it." Jim rubbed his face. "So much for getting that ship and studying it."

"At least it is no longer a threat to the galaxy," Spock pointed out. "That was our primary goal. We did learn much about the ship."

"Yeah. That computer core. It was like nothing I've ever seen."

"I have never seen technology like they had either, Captain."

"I guess we may never know where they got it from either."

"It is logical to believe that they did not create it on their own. They most likely took it from some ship that they captured, or made the beings create it for them."

"Either way, it's destroyed now."

"I'm just glad we're not floating particles out there in the Neutral Zone," Solan remarked. "We could have been, you know."

"Don't remind me," Jim said.

Jim went to the Bridge. "I need to contact the Enterprise and let them know what happened," he said.

"We will hail them, Captain," Grakar replied. He looked at Jim. "Our mission was a failure. I hope that you will not see this failure as a cause to reject the peace treaty."

"It wasn't your fault. We just didn't expect that. I'll be glad to have you guys for allies. We couldn't have gotten control of that ship without you."

"But we lost it because we allowed Heegat to escape and destroy the ship."

"Well, you know, none of us found him, so that wasn't all your fault either. We just have to move on. He just knew where he was going and we were in new territory. He had the advantage."

"I suppose you could see it that way, but Klingons do not accept failure easily."

"Don't see it as a failure, but a learning experience. We learned some stuff about that ship, and we stopped it. They won't be kidnapping and stealing with that ship anymore."

Grakar considered that. "Acceptable."

Korax sat in the co-pilot's seat. "Do you believe Heegat blew himself up?" he asked.

"I don't know," Jim replied. "This ship was the only one that survived, and it's funny, there were no other ships there."

"I also find that odd," Spock said. "Unless there was another area in the ship where they kept ships that had been stripped of their value."

"A junk yard somewhere in the galaxy like Qualor Two. They must have dumped the ships they captured somewhere."

"That could have even been in Romulan space. It is unlikely that we will ever find such a dump."

"Your optimism staggers me, Spock."

Solan snickered at that. "He's starting to sound like Doctor McCoy."

"Well, he does stay around him a lot," Jim remarked.

"The Enterprise is answering," Grakar said.

Jim looked at the screen, and Mister Sulu appeared. "Mister Sulu, how's the ship?" Jim asked.

"It's fine, Sir," Sulu answered. "Did you get the pirate ship?"

"No. It's a long story. We're all okay, but we had to abandon the ship. I'll tell you guys about it when we get there."

"Yes sir."

"Kirk out."

The transmission ended, and Jim just sat there. He wondered what Admiral Winston would say about this failed mission. They had not expected Heegat to put the ship on self-destruct. It was over and done now though, and they could do nothing to change it.


	11. Chapter 11

Jim stood in Admiral Winston's office on Pacifica, dressed in his dress uniform again, and the admiral was not happy about the way the mission had turned out. Jim had decided to come to this meeting alone instead of having the others endure the chewing out. "We don't know what happened to Heegat, Sir," Jim said. "He was not in the Brig with the other prisoners on the Klingon ship. All we can suspect is that he blew himself up."

"If we could have captured that Nausicaan, we might have gotten more information from him," Winston replied.

"If he was willing to blow himself up, it's not likely that he would have given in."

"We'll analyze the information and see if we can gather anything else from the data that Mister Scott uploaded while he had time."

"We just didn't anticipate him doing something like that."

"I understand, Captain. You're dismissed. We'll talk about this more later."

"Yes sir."

Jim left that office, and Carol was waiting for him, along with Bones. "So, when are you going to tell us what happened?" Bones asked.

"I'll tell you now if I can have something to eat while I'm doing it," Jim replied.

"Fine. Let's go."

They went out and got a transport. "I'm starving," Jim said as they were sitting in the transport. "Where's Alex?"

"Now, you should know where he is," Carol replied.

"Right."

"He blew up the ship?"

Jim nodded. "He certainly didn't want us to get it. That's puzzling. I just don't get it."

"He probably knew he couldn't get it back anyway," Bones said. "Blowing himself up is what puzzles me."

"He was nowhere on the Klingon ship. He had to be in there."

"You couldn't detect him on that ship. Maybe he had some way of hiding like you had."

Jim considered that. "Then where is he now?"

"What if he's still onboard the Klingon vessel?" Carol asked.

"He would most likely be off it by now if he was there, but there was no intruder alarm or anything."

"Which brings us back to the possibility that he could cloak himself."

Jim shook his head. "That would mean that he's on this planet somewhere."

"And that means, he's gonna most likely be after you," Bones said.

"No. There's no reason for him to be after me. Grakar and the Klingons were the ones who upset his apple cart, not me."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, we'll see what happens. We're not even sure he's here yet. He could have blown himself up. The captain goes down with the ship, remember?"

"You think that was his intention?"

"I don't know what his intention was other than to keep us from taking that ship…and to steal the technology he thought we had."

"Jim, you know there has to be more. If he wanted that ship so bad, why would he blow it up? Why wouldn't he just sabotage it until some of his friends got there?"

Jim considered that. "I don't know. I'm confused about that, but it's done now…and I'm starving."

They soon arrived at a restaurant and went inside. "Something sure smells good," Jim said. "I like the idea of eating something really cooked."

They got a table and sat down. "Where do we go next?" Bones asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "I think we're gonna be here a while longer. The admiral wants to analyze all the data. I hope he doesn't want us to go after these beings again."

"Who else would he send after them besides you?"

"There are plenty of others who can go besides me."

"Any others who know how to work with Klingons?"

"Come on, Bones. We all might as well get used to working with them. They're here to stay. They're certainly not afraid in a fight."

"Who knew?"

"You don't have to be so sarcastic."

"I don't know how to be any other way. You think Starfleet will use any of that new technology you discovered?"

"Some of it was stuff that Starfleet is working on. That means they may have captured a Starfleet vessel before."

"And took it where? To the Romulans?"

"No way to know."

"I just can't believe you came through all that with only bruises."

"Hey. Maybe I'm getting better at it."

"You should be. You get enough practice."

While Jim ate, he thought about Heegat. What if he was on that planet? What would he do? He would have a hard time blending in, because he would probably be the only Nausicaan on the planet, but then again, there were lots of beings who walked around with hoods. He could not believe that Heegat would come after him though. He thought he would probably be trying to find his way off the planet and back to his allies, and may have already found his way. He thought maybe he would go and talk to launch control and find out if any ships had left right after they did.

"What are you thinking about?" Carol asked.

Jim looked at her. "I think Heegat would try to get off the planet," he said. "He might stowaway on a ship or he might just pay his way."

"Pay his way?"

"Yeah. If he made it here, he would be wanting to get off this planet to get back to his pals."

"You intend to investigate?" Bones asked.

"Why not? I don't have anything else to do."

"You don't?" Carol asked.

"I mean…like work."

"Oh yes. You love your work."

"You do too. You were more excited when you were creating those suits than you are when we go out."

"Jim Kirk. That is a horrible thing to say."

"You were about to say that I love my work more than I love being with you…weren't you? Doesn't sound good to hear that out loud to your face, does it?"

Carol frowned. "I suppose you're right."

"You know I don't love my work more than I love being with you, so don't say that."

Bones blew out a breath and shook his head. "You guys have the worst fights I've ever heard," he said.

"Well, stop listening," Jim replied. "How do you know we have fights?"

"I've heard more than one."

"We do not have fights," Carol declared. "We disagree sometimes. That is not a fight."

"Excuse me. Arguments." Bones leaned on his hand. "Why am I always the third wheel?"

Jim chuckled at that. "You're not the third wheel," he said.

"I feel like it sometimes."

"Well, you should bring Andrea along sometimes."

Bones frowned at that suggestion and did not say anything. Jim scowled at that. "Wow, I rendered him speechless," he said. "Did something happen while I was gone?"

Carol just continued eating and did not say anything. "Okay," Jim said. "I'll just eat and keep my mouth shut." He knew something must have happened, and he supposed Bones would tell him eventually. Right now, he had to figure out if Heegat had come to Pacifica.

When they were done eating, Jim and Bones went to the navigation control center which was a huge place. Jim was sure they had cameras in there to watch what was going on. The head of the control center was a Vulcan named T'Meni, who was very strict with his adherence to details.

Jim and Bones found T'Meni in his usual place at the control center. "Hi," Jim said. "I'm Captain Ja…"

"You are Captain Kirk," T'Meni interrupted. "Your reputation, and identity precede you."

Jim scowled at that. "I was wanting to look at the security camera footage around the Klingon ship right after we arrived. We think there could have been a stowaway."

"It is likely that we would have seen such an intruder."

"Well, maybe everyone around here doesn't have your keen sense of duty and vision."

"I will pull up the footage for you."

Jim and Bones waited while T'Meni pulled up the footage, and they watched as Jim and the others disembarked, but they did not see anyone else. However, as the footage continued, another being emerged from the ship after the hangar was dark. They could plainly see that it was a Nausicaan, and it had to be Heegat.

"He's here, Jim," Bones said, stating the obvious.

Jim nodded. "And he could have already found a way off the planet by now," he replied.

T'Meni looked at Jim. "I apologize for this oversight," he said.

"It's not your fault. We didn't know he was on the ship either. He's very sneaky."

"And you believe he has boarded another ship to leave the planet?"

"He could have, or he could be on the planet somewhere."

"We will be looking for him."

"He will more than likely hide his identity, and he could even have a way to hide from the cameras, although he didn't use it there."

"Do you believe he is a threat to the people of this planet?"

Jim looked at T'Meni. "He very well could be," he said.

"Then I will contact security. It should not be difficult to find a Nausicaan here."

"Thanks."

Jim and Bones went back outside. "So what are you going to do now?" Bones asked.

"Well, if you were Heegat, what would you do?" Jim asked.

Bones considered that as they started walking. "I'd probably hide during the day and do what I was going to do at night."

"I agree. He could be anywhere hiding out."

"You think he's going to try and get off the planet or come after you or our allies?"

"I don't think he would go after those Klingons."

"But he would come after you."

"It's possible, but we don't know that."

"Right."

"And he could already be off the planet. Not knowing is what's the worst part."

They walked in silence a moment. "Bones, did you break up with Andrea?" Jim asked.

"Why are you asking me that?" Bones replied.

"Why didn't you answer my question?"

"Because I don't have to."

Bones turned down another street, and Jim just stood there a moment, but then he went after him. "Hey, Bones!" he called.

Bones just kept walking, and Jim finally caught up with him. "Hey, what's going on?" Jim asked.

"Nothing," Bones replied. "I just wanted to go this way."

Jim stopped then. "Fine. Be that way." He turned and went back out to the street to get a transport. He would just go back to his quarters and change into something besides his dress uniform. He got into the transport, but before the door closed, Bones jumped in too.

Bones sat down across from him. "Are you hijacking my transport?" Jim asked. "Get out."

"Is that an order?" Bones asked.

"No."

"Then I'm staying."

"Let's go!" Jim called to the driver. He looked at Bones. "You're acting like a real jerk, you know that?"

"Maybe I want to," Bones said. "I feel like a real jerk."

"Why? I know this has something to do with Andrea. We're here alone, so why don't you tell me what happened?"

"I…told her that I wanted us to spend some time apart while we're here. Well, she took that to mean that I was wanting to see other women while I'm here, and I said she was crazy. She couldn't just accept the fact that I wanted some time to think! So I told her maybe I didn't want to see her anymore at all if she didn't have any more faith in me than that."

"Bones, why did you say that?"

"Because…I don't know. I wanted time alone and if she can't let me have that, I don't want to see her anymore."

Jim nodded. "You found a way, I guess."

"A way to do what?"

"Now, don't start getting hostile at me again. You're nervous about that relationship, and you're looking for ways to get out of it without it looking like it was your idea."

"Are you analyzing me?"

"I'm the captain. I can analyze people if I want. You're a coward!"

"I am not!"

"Oh yes you are. You're afraid to be in love with her. You're afraid you're going to be happy."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are."

"I don't have to sit here and let you analyze me…wrong, I might add!"

"Get out then. You jumped into my transport!" Jim grabbed the door handle. "Here, I'll open the door for you."

"Will you just stop!"

They were both silent a moment. "Why don't you just marry her?" Jim asked.

"I don't want to!" Bones replied.

"Why not? Oh, never mind. I should know the answer to that question."

They soon arrived at the complex and got out of the transport. "You think I'm stupid, don't you?" Bones asked.

"No," Jim said. "Maybe a little foolish."

"Well, today, I'm going on a hiking trip."

"Alone?"

"Yeah. I want to think." Bones pointed. "You see those beautiful mountains and hills out there. Pacifica isn't all ocean and beach, you know."

"I know. But you're going alone?"

"I want to go alone so I can think without anyone trying to analyze me."

"Bones. I'm not analyzing you. I just know you. I don't have to analyze you to know what you're thinking."

"Well, that's another reason I need to go alone. So everyone doesn't think they know what I'm thinking."

They walked into the building, and met Spock in the hallway. "Captain, did your meeting with the admiral go well?" he asked.

"As well as it could," Jim said. "They're… _analyzing_ the information."

Bones rolled his eyes at that as he heard the emphasis put on the word _analyzing._ "Do you believe he will have another mission for us?" Spock asked.

"I kinda doubt it," Jim said. "Maybe we can get back to our exploration. I'm tired of all this."

"Don't forget to tell him about Heegat," Bones said.

Jim gave him a disapproving look. "You didn't have to bring that up."

"Yes I did."

Just then, Solan walked up, and overheard what they were saying. "Bring what up?" he asked.

"I can't do anything without it being a public event," Jim declared.

"Eh, well, I guess it goes with being a captain."

"Captain, do you have information about Heegat?" Spock asked, trying to get back to the subject.

"He's on this planet," Bones informed him. "Jim here doesn't want you to know it because he doesn't want anyone hovering over him."

Solan and Spock looked at Jim. "He's on this planet?" Solan asked.

"We don't really know that," Jim said. "Bones just has a big mouth. He wants to go off alone on a hiking trip, but he wants me to have to put up with bodyguards."

"I don't have some Nausicaan after me with a knife long enough to stick all the way through me from the side!"

"Did he threaten you?" Solan asked.

"No," Jim said. "I haven't heard from Heegat. As far as we know, he could have gotten off this planet and went who knows where."

"Still, it is wise to take precautions," Spock said.

"No! I am not going to have someone around watching me all the time. You guys just go about your business and enjoy the rest of our time here, because we're most likely going to be back out there soon."

Jim walked on to his room. "Stubborn to a fault," Bones said.

"If the captain does not want us to follow him around, I suggest we honor his wishes," Spock declared. "However, if we end up in the same place that he is, it could be a coincidence."

Bones and Solan just stared at him a moment. "You're taking up more of Jim's ways all the time," Solan said.

"So, you guys are going to watch him without him knowing it?" Bones asked.

"It seems to be the only way," Spock replied.

"If he catches me and starts to chew me out, I'm going to tell him that it was your idea," Solan informed him.

"Well, I'm going to prepare for my hike," Bones said. "I'll keep my communicator with me."

"That is a wise decision," Spock said. "We should all stay in touch at all times."

"You really think he's still here?"

"He is most likely angry and humiliated because of the fact that Jim escaped from him twice. I do not know a great deal about the Nausicaans. However, I know that they are a proud people, and do not like failure."

"You did too, you know."

"I realize that. However, he knows Jim is the captain, and would most likely go after him first."

"When we were on that ship, he wanted to capture the rest of us to use against Jim."

"We are not in the same situation now. He has no reason."

"Jim knows a lot of Starfleet secrets."

"We have no indication that Heegat is after such information."

"You could be right, but I'm sure he'd like to have those plans for that suit, don't you?"

"Perhaps. Right now, we will focus on our primary goal."

"I'll see you day after tomorrow. I'm leaving today and spending the night up there somewhere in the hills."

"Good luck, Doctor."


	12. Chapter 12

Bones got on his way once he had all his gear together. He was taking water, and a small amount of food. He stood outside and looked toward the hills he was heading for and took a deep breath. He thought he could settle in a place like this when he decided to stop being a ship's doctor. Sometimes he wondered how much longer that would be.

He started up the trail that was designated for hikes. He was using a map. Sometimes, he just did not like technology. It took all the fun out of everything at times. He liked finding his own way and figuring things out. It kept one's mind sharp. The further he went, the quieter it was, and he tried to think of absolutely nothing except what was around him.

As the trail got steeper, Bones stopped and drank some water. He looked around him. He thought he had the feeling he was being watched, but he tried to shrug that off because he was out in the wilderness. No one was around watching him, and there were no cameras out there either. "You're getting paranoid, McCoy," he said to himself. He drank another gulp of water and then walked on.

Later that evening, Bones stopped to look down into a valley full of yellow flowers. He thought no matter what planet one was on, there would be yellow flowers. He thought he could smell a slight fragrance from them too, almost as sweet as a rose.

While Bones was standing there, he heard something in the brush on the other side of the trail. He had definitely not brought any weapons or anything with him. He shook his head. What was he thinking? It was probably some animal. He blew out a breath. He thought he had been in space and danger too long. Every time he heard something, he assumed something was after him.

Bones walked on a little further, staying close to the edge of the trail so that he could see the valley below. It was not a steep drop-off, but it would not be a pleasant descent if one fell. He slapped at a biting fly that had landed on his arm. He thought no matter what planet one was on, they would find some biting insect too…but it was just part of nature.

He heard another noise like a branch snapping in two. "It's just an animal," he whispered to himself. "You can't be paranoid." He realized he was walking faster though. He groaned at himself and started running. He was still going up a hill so it was not all that easy to run, but he definitely heard something behind him now, and it sounded like it had shoes on.

Bones got his communicator out while he was running, but his stalker tackled him, and caused him to lose the communicator as he fell to the ground. Bones struggled, but he could not get away from his attacker. He was turned over and then there was a long-bladed knife in front of his face, and he was looking up into the face of Heegat, the Nausicaan who had made his way to Pacifica as a stowaway.

"What do you want?" Bones asked, pretending not to know who he was.

Heegat grabbed Bones and jerked him up from the ground. "Take off the pack," he said.

"Who are you?"

"You know exactly who I am, Doctor McCoy."

Bones swallowed hard. "How do you know me?"

"Take off the pack."

Bones did not see that he had any alternative, so he took the pack off and dropped it on the ground. "So now what?" he asked. "You can't get away with this! Jim will come after you! And you won't survive the next time!"

"I'm counting on him coming after me, but he is the one who won't survive this time."

"What are you going to do? Kill me?"

"Oh no. You're bait."

Suddenly, Heegat grabbed Bones and shoved him over the edge of the cliff. Bones yelled in terror as he was falling, and he tried to shift his weight so he would not fall on his head. He landed hard on the rocky, dirt hillside and rolled for what he thought was several minutes, and could not stop…but a large tree stopped him as he rolled into it. He grimaced as he was lying on his back, and he felt dizzy. He looked up through the tree limbs at the blue sky of Pacifica. _At least I won't die on a dark, dismal world…_

Jim sat at a table with Carol as they were having dinner that evening. They also had Alex with them. "Just a few more days here, and then we'll be back out there," Jim said.

"Back out in space," Carol replied. "Won't you be glad when this five year mission is over?"

"I don't know. I think I'll miss it in a way."

"But we can raise our child in a home."

"Yeah, there are some very good things about it. We can always work on a planet."

"I think you'll eventually be an admiral."

"Maybe."

They were silent a few moments. "Jim, I didn't mean what…I almost said today," Carol said. "I know you don't love your job more than you love us."

"I know. And I know you don't enjoy creating something more than you love me either. I was just angry, and fed up with this whole situation." Jim leaned back in his chair. "I can't believe we lost that ship. We had it in our hands! Why couldn't we keep it?"

"You didn't know he would take such drastic measures."

"That doesn't make me feel any better. And Grakar was pretty upset too."

"The Klingons fought hard."

"They did, and we did. The admiral is interrogating those prisoners who were on the ship. I don't really think they know anything, but…somewhere out there, there are Starfleet officers who are prisoners, and a Starfleet ship out there somewhere. We didn't get enough of the memory to find all that. It was just a failed mission altogether."

"Not altogether. You may not have gotten the ship, but at least it's out of commission, and won't be pirating anymore."

"I guess there's always a bright side."

"Of course. You're not Superman."

Carol smiled at him flirtatiously as she leaned on the table. Jim leaned on the table. "You can be my Superman later," she whispered.

Jim smiled. "Only if you'll be my Wonder Woman."

Carol giggled in spite of herself. "Aren't I always?"

"Oh yeah. A total goddess."

She touched his lips with her finger and then kissed him. Then they looked at Alex who was sitting in a baby chair beside the table, and smiling. "Maybe we should make another one of those," Jim said.

Carol almost gasped. "Not now!" she replied. "He's not even out of diapers!"

"I'm kidding. You don't have to panic."

Jim sipped his coffee. He realized he had been drinking a lot of coffee since he had been on that world…but it was good. It was much better than replicated coffee.

"You're never going to get any sleep drinking coffee all the time," Carol said.

"I can't sleep most of the time anyway," Jim replied.

"Well, tonight, I'm going to make sure we're not disturbed, and I'm going to make you very tired."

"You think that'll help me sleep?"

"You have no faith in me."

"Oh, yes, I do."

"I don't think you've slept a solid two hours since you've been here. You have to stop worrying."

"I'm trying." Jim looked across the room and saw Solan sitting at the bar that was there in the restaurant, and he was sitting sideways on the stool. Jim frowned. "I think we have a bodyguard."

"Where?" Carol asked.

"Over there at the bar. It's Solan."

"He's watching us?"

"Not really, but he's there, and I guarantee when we get up to leave, he's going to follow."

Jim chuckled. "I have to get Solan to tell me how he knows all the things he knows someday," he said. "He seems to know a little bit about everything."

"He does. He's been a rogue, and a scoundrel."

"Mostly an honest one, I think."

"He's loyal. You have to give him that."

"Yes. That's for sure."

Bones cried out with pain as he tried to move his leg, and when he tried to sit up, it was even worse. He felt of his ribs and he could tell he had at least one broken, but it was not broken clean through. He looked up at the tree he was lying under and reached up for a limb. He groaned out loud as he pulled on the limb to sit up. He leaned back on the tree and waited a moment. He looked at his right leg where the pain was coming from. It was the opposite leg he had broken when he was in the West, but it sure did not hurt any less. And this time, he was alone. Oh, he had wanted to be alone…out in the wilderness. Now what would he do? That…Heegat! He had made sure he did not have that communicator.

Bones looked up at the sky. It would soon be getting dark. He did not know much about how long the night lasted here on Pacifica. He thought if he could climb back up that ledge, he might see someone on that trail, but it was a steep ledge when one was going up, especially with a broken leg. And that broken rib did not feel good either. He thought maybe if he made his way around this area he was in now, he might find a better place to climb up.

Doctor Leonard McCoy. He had worked hard to earn that title. He had to know how to help his own self. That involved getting a splint onto his leg. He had never been good at enduring pain, and he did not like having to make pain for other people, but he liked to alleviate it as much as possible. He looked around him but there was nothing much to work with where he was. He got himself over onto his hands and knees and groaned loudly. "You're gonna have to pick some other way of having fun, McCoy," he said to himself. "Going out into the wilderness alone is not a good idea. Then again, I wouldn't be in this fix if not for that…reject from a molding factory!" He could not keep from crying out as he accidentally bumped his injured leg on a stone. He stayed where he was for a moment and watched sweat drip off his face and make round tiny craters in the dirt. He thought his eyes would water, but they did not.

He crawled on into the forest, and it was going down too. He was going further down the hill, but he did not have a choice until he could find something to help himself. His hand suddenly slipped on the slope he was on, and he almost fell on his stomach, but he managed to avoid that. However, it hurt! He got back on his hand and continued until he came to a fallen tree which had some old bark around it. He got himself sitting up beside a tree and leaned back a moment…

Jim stood outside looking up at the stars as he had done plenty of times when he was a kid. He supposed he had intended to explore those stars when he was a kid, and then just got sidetracked later on. He often wondered what his father would think of him now, and he remembered Captain Pike saying _Your father would be proud._ He had felt very lonely for a while after Pike died, but he always had Bones and Spock…and then Carol. He was not lonely anymore. He smiled as he thought of how content he felt now, although he did like seeing new things and going to new places.

Carol came out and stood beside him and leaned on the rail of the patio. "What are you in such deep thought about?" she asked.

"Contentment," Jim said. "I don't think I've ever been as content in my life as I am right now."

Carol looked at him. "Alex is asleep," she said with a flirtatious look.

"Yeah? Perfect time for sleeping, isn't it?"

Jim laughed at her reaction. "I have to tease you, you know that," he said.

"Why don't you come inside and tease me?" Carol asked. "Remember? I was going to make you very tired so you would sleep deeply."

"Wow. Let's get on in there before we embarrass someone out here watching us."

Carol laughed as they turned to go in, but she ran, and Jim chased her to the bed. He started to kiss her but then his communicator chirped. "You have got to be kidding," he said.

"Don't answer it," Carol replied.

"If that's the admiral, I think I'm going to die right here."

Jim got the communicator. "Kirk here," he said, trying to sound calmer than he felt.

"Captain," Spock said.

"Spock! This better be important."

"Did I call at a bad time?"

"I'd say you did. But what is it?"

"It is Doctor McCoy. He said that he would be checking in this evening, and he has not contacted me. Has he contacted you?"

"No. Maybe he just forgot. You know how Bones is."

"I do. Perhaps he will call in the morning before he starts back."

"Maybe. I wouldn't worry. Kirk out."

Jim tossed the communicator back to the nightstand. "NO more interruptions!" he said.

Carol squealed as he kissed her neck. They both looked at the baby to make sure he was not waking up. "We have to learn to be a little quieter," Jim whispered.

"We should have already learned that," Carol replied.

"No more talk."

Bones woke up to a horrible pain in his leg. He just sat there a moment, and he realized it was almost dark, but he felt hot and sweaty. "You're in a fix now, McCoy," he said to himself. "Can't even warn Jim that that maniac is on the planet." He remembered telling Spock that he would check in. "Oh, yeah, Spock, I'm calling to check in, and by the way, I fell down a cliff and broke my leg and a rib after I was pushed by Heegat." His mouth was dry. "I would even love to see the Vulcan coming right now. I should know better than to make a contact plan with someone who never worries about anything."

Spock returned to his quarters where Uhura was already in bed. "Where have you been?" she asked.

"I was waiting on a call from Doctor McCoy," Spock said.

Uhura sat up. "And?"

"He did not call. He had said he would check in this evening, but the captain said he probably just forgot, or simply did not do it."

"He may be right. Are you worried?"

"He is in the wilderness alone. However, I do know that it is not unlike Doctor McCoy to be less than considerate."

"I don't know. He's just brusque sometimes."

"Perhaps he will contact us in the morning."

"Perhaps. Right now, let's not think about it."

Solan went to his own quarters. He had seen nothing during the day that was worth worrying about. He had met up with Heegat before, and he was rather worried about that guy himself. He had met a lot of beings in the galaxy, and the Nausicaans were some of the most cruel and sneaky of them all. He looked out the windows in his room. He just had a feeling that something was going on out there that he did not know. He had never liked ignoring that feeling. He was sure if Heegat was on that planet, he would not only come after Captain Kirk, but him as well. Heegat had recognized him when he was on that ship the first time, and he knew who was on the ship the second time too.

While Solan was standing there, he thought he saw something moving in the darkness outside. It was only a flash of movement, but there were beings still walking around outside. After all, it was a recreation planet. However, this movement had been out in the dark behind the building they were in. "Computer, close these windows," Solan said.

The blinds on the windows closed and he could not see out at all. He backed up away from the windows. He did not like feeling uneasy but right now, he could not ignore it. Spock had even said that Doctor McCoy did not check in. Sure, he knew how Doctor McCoy was, but in a situation like this, would he neglect to check in when he said he would? He supposed he could do nothing about it tonight, unless he took his own ship out and just looked for him. Even if there was nothing wrong, at least he would know. Solan shook his head at that idea. He thought he might be becoming as paranoid as McCoy. He lay down on the bed, but he did not think he would be sleeping very much as he kept his blaster close to his hand.


	13. Chapter 13

During the night, Jim suddenly woke up feeling a little startled. He was not sure why he woke up. He did not think he had been dreaming anything. He certainly did not want to get up. He was warm with Carol up against his back. He did not hear the baby making any sounds, and he could see that he was still asleep.

Jim turned over on his back and stared at the ceiling. He felt wide awake. Carol propped up on her elbow and looked at him. "Why are you awake?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "I was just suddenly awake. I don't think I heard anything."

"Jim, you have to get some sleep."

"I'm trying. I was asleep." Jim looked at her. "Why are you awake?"

"Because you turned over."

"Sorry."

"Let's go back to sleep."

Jim lay there awake. He could not figure out why he had awakened so suddenly, but he had a feeling of dread.

Bones sat leaning back against the tree. He thought he was covered with sweat now. _What else do you expect on an ocean world?_ He asked himself. How did Heegat think anyone would ever find him down there? Maybe he thought he would die down there before they found him. He supposed he could. He had not been able to do anything for his leg, and he was sure it was infected now, and it hurt worse now than it did when the break first happened. He had had everything he needed in that pack, and he supposed that was why Heegat had taken it. Why did he have to sit in the dark?

Bones was awake when the sky started changing from black to gray. He had never been so glad to see a sun coming up. He was incredibly thirsty. He looked around him and picked up two large pieces of bark from the fallen tree. He thought he could probably make a splint for his leg. He took the string from his hiking boot, and then looked at his leg. He could see the unnatural bend in the leg, and he knew that bone needed to be set. He did not think he could do that on his own, but he certainly did not expect to see anyone out there where he was. He had seen no one after he got on this trail…except Heegat. And where was that maniac now?

Just as Bones thought that, he heard something moving in the brush. He picked up a limb from the tree and listened. Whatever was out there was taking very slow steps. He could not imagine why Heegat would come back. He got his club ready and waited. When he thought whoever, or whatever, it was was right behind the tree, he moved around the side on his knees with the club in his hand. But it was the Pacifica equivalent of a rabbit.

Bones grimaced and sat back down. He watched the small animal which had long ears and soft fur just like a rabbit. It sat up and twitched its nose at him. "Well, you would probably smell funny too if you were in this predicament," he said. He did not know much about the animals on Pacifica, but he had seen one of these before. It was as docile as a rabbit, and it came over to him slowly sniffing as it came. "You must have been a pet before," Bones said as the animal sniffed his hand. He did not know why he felt so sleepy, but he wanted to get up and try to get back to the trail so at least he might have a chance that someone would find him.

Bones looked at his leg again, and it was incredibly sore. The thought of trying to set that bone himself almost made him dizzy and sick. Jim was always teasing him about having poor bedside manner, but if he knew the alternative, he might tell him it was okay. He had found out that he had an incredibly queasy stomach in his first year of medical school, but he had gotten over that…for the most part. He certainly did not like boats, but he usually just overruled his stomach and went anyway.

Bones realized he was rambling in his thoughts to avoid what he had to do in order to get up. "Jim, can't you get a little worried about me?" he said out loud.

There were two small trees very close together and he thought they would be perfect for this. He could put his foot between them and pull and set the bone…in theory. He had set bones before, but he had never set one of his own. Would he pass out? He certainly did when they were in 1879. He got his splint ready and moved a little closer to the small trees.

"Alright, McCoy," Bones said as he put his foot between the trees. "You remember that old saying _physician heal thyself._ I guess you're about to know what that means. Doctors make the worst patients." He lay there a moment and looked up through the trees at the incredibly blue sky. "I can't do it. Don't they have patrols out here somewhere?"

Jim and Carol were up because the baby was up, and they were going to breakfast. "We could have gotten breakfast brought to our room," Jim said as they were walking down the hallway.

"Why?" Carol asked. "Don't you like going out?"

"Sure, but we have a lot more privacy in the room, and if I take a notion, I can kiss you and…"

"Jim."

Spock was coming down the hallway. "Captain, I still have not heard from Doctor McCoy," he said.

Jim scowled at that. He knew Bones was cynical, but he could not imagine him keeping Spock worried like that. Did Vulcans worry? "And you're concerned about him?" Jim asked.

"I am," Spock replied. "Since we have known that there was a hostile being on the planet, and he is our friend…"

"Alright. We don't know that he's in any danger. Maybe he's just having a good time and doesn't want to call us."

Jim thought that sounded ridiculous even as he said it. "We're about to go to breakfast," he said. He looked at Alex whom he was carrying. "If he hasn't called by the time we're done with breakfast, we'll do something."

"Yes, Captain."

Just then, Andrea came down the hallway, and she was not looking very happy. "Good morning, Captain," she said. "How's Alex?"

"He's fine," Jim replied.

"Do you know where Leonard is…I mean, Doctor McCoy?"

"Uh, he went on a hiking trip."

"Oh. When did he leave?"

"Yesterday."

Carol folded her arms as she was angry at how McCoy had hurt Andrea like that. Andrea had been so happy about that relationship, and Carol could see how unhappy she was now.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Andrea asked. "I want to talk to him."

Jim did not want to tell her that they had not heard from Bones. "He should be back later today," he said.

"Oh. Okay. Could you tell him that I want to talk to him?"

"Sure."

"I'll keep the baby for you today anytime you need me to."

"Thank you," Carol said. "We probably will need your assistance later today."

"Just let me know."

Andrea walked on, and Jim and the others walked on. "Oh! He makes me so angry!" Carol said.

"Who?" Jim asked.

"Your friend, that's who!"

"Now, don't go getting all angry at Bones. They had an argument."

"That he caused."

"Carol. Just stay out of that. It's best not to get involved."

"Have you talked to him?"

"Carol. It's not our business."

"Fine."

They went to the restaurant there where they were staying, and as they walked in, Admiral Winston was waiting for them. Jim almost stood at attention. "Captain, I was hoping to talk to you this morning," Admiral Winston said.

"Over breakfast?" Jim asked.

"Is that a problem?"

Carol waited to see what Jim said. She knew how he always thought he had to do everything the admiral wanted. "No, sir, it's not a problem," Jim said. "We'll be glad to have you join us."

Spock was still with them, so they got a table for four, and a baby. "Captain Kirk, I'm going to get right to it," Admiral Winston said after they were seated. "It was reported that one of those pirates made it to this planet aboard the ship you came back in."

"That's true, Admiral," Jim replied.

"How did that happen?"

"I don't know. We think he has a way of concealing himself. We didn't detect anyone on the ship. He could have left the planet already. He was probably just saving himself."

Admiral Winston looked at Spock. "Do you believe that, Mister Spock?" he asked.

Jim looked at Spock who was looking rather perplexed. "I do not, Sir," Spock answered. "We have also lost contact with Doctor McCoy. He went out for a hiking adventure, and has not contacted us like he planned."

Admiral Winston absorbed that a moment. "Are you telling me he's lost?"

"We do not know, but he had specifically told me that he would contact me last night, but he did not, and he has not contacted me this morning either."

Winston looked at Jim. "What do you think about that?"

"Well, he might have been somewhere that he couldn't get a signal," Jim said. "We don't know that anything's wrong. I told Spock that if he hasn't heard from B…Doctor McCoy by the time we're done here, we'll do something."

"Looks like you'd have more concern for a lost crew member when you know there's someone on the planet who most likely has a gigantic grudge against you and your crew. And if I'm correct, the Nausicaans enjoy torturing someone."

Jim frowned. "Admiral, we don't know that anything has happened to McCoy. This is all speculation."

"You may be right, Captain. We've analyzed the data from that ship, and I think we're gonna gain some new technology from it. They had perfected the chips. That's something that's being worked on, but it wasn't ready to use. That power source was fascinating. Tell me more about it."

"It was out in the open, Admiral. It didn't have to be contained. We didn't have much time to study it because he had set the self-destruct from there. We only had five minutes to get out."

"I understand."

"The sphere created power by rotating. Scotty probably knows more about that than I do. He was fascinated with the way it was made."

"I'm sure. And you're sure they contacted the Romulans."

"Absolutely, Sir. As you know, there were Romulans on that ship, and they had been on the Romulan side of the Neutral Zone. It didn't take them long to notice us either." Jim sighed. "I just wish we could have gotten that ship."

"To say the Klingons were disappointed would be an understatement. They felt that they had failed."

"I know. I told him that it was no one's fault. We just didn't anticipate those events. Who would have thought he would blow up the ship?"

"Question is: what stake do the Romulans have in this? What will they do next?"

"They don't have the ship anymore. What _can_ they do?"

"They know who was on that ship, I'm sure. I don't believe they're finished."

"That's possible."

"If you think it's hard to make decisions on a starship as the captain, you should think about how hard it is to make decisions for all of Starfleet."

Jim frowned. "What decision are you trying to make, Sir?" he asked.

"The committee wants to confront the Romulans about this," Admiral Winston said. "But I'm not so sure that's the right move at this time. After all, we're still in the middle of the treaty with the Klingons, and although it's coming along well, it's still delicate. I just don't think we should start something else at this moment."

"I understand."

"I do know this situation is serious."

Jim was silent a moment wondering if Admiral Winston was going to ask him to contact the Romulans. He certainly did not want that task. There were some Romulans who were not hostile but there were others who definitely were, and they had all known about Nero as well. Some sympathized with him…he thought there was always a split about everything that happened. How could anyone justify someone destroying a planet?

"We'll talk about this again, Captain Kirk," Winston said. "I'll leave you folks to your breakfast."

Jim stood up as Admiral Winston stood up. "You're welcome to stay, Sir," he said.

"No. I have a lot of thinking to do and a lot of talking to do."

"Yes sir."

Admiral Winston walked out of the restaurant, and Jim sat back down. He had never really thought about how hard it must be to be the head of Starfleet. "Well, that was rather awkward," Carol said.

"Maybe he just needed someone to talk to," Jim replied.

"Apparently so," Spock agreed. "I am sure his job is very difficult most of the time."

After breakfast, of course, they had still not heard from Bones. Jim stood in the lobby of the hotel with Spock and Solan. "So, we're gonna go out and look for him," Jim said. "What if something happened to his communicator, and he's on his way back?"

"Then we will know," Spock replied.

"Right," Solan agreed. "You mean you're not concerned at all?"

"I am a little worried," Jim admitted. "I'll meet you guys here after I change into something else."

Jim went to his room and told Carol where he was going. "Would you like me to go with you?" she asked. "Andrea doesn't mind keeping Alex, and I think she wants to keep her mind off what your friend did to her."

"Carol, Bones has a right to either date her or not. It's none of our business. Being angry at Bones is…illogical."

Carol folded her arms. "I know you're right, but she's such a nice woman, and she made him happy. Why is he so uncomfortable with that?"

"I don't know, but like I said, it's none of our business. That is between them. Okay?"

"Okay, but I can't help but notice the change in her. She loves him."

"I know, Carol, and I know Bones loves her, but I can't make decisions for him. Who knows? Maybe they'll get back together."

"I hope so."

"Trying to force him into it is only going to make him run even further away. Just, please, stay out of it. Let her keep the baby."

"I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Jim, Spock, Carol, and Solan walked out to the trail that Bones had taken the day before. "If he stayed on the trail, what could happen?" Jim asked. "I guess it won't hurt any of us to have a good hike."

"Certainly not," Carol replied. "Fresh air and exercise."

"We're not exactly out here to sight see," Solan remarked. "What if he is in trouble out there?"

"Then we'll be there to help him," Jim said.

Bones was still lying on the ground as he woke up again. His foot was still between the two trees. He knew what he needed to do, but he was having trouble making himself do it. He was not sure he could keep it up once he started. "You're a doctor, McCoy," he told himself. "You can doctor your own self! Now get to it!"

He looked above his head at the tree he intended to use to help him pull on his leg. It hurt to raise his arms up there because of his broken rib too, but he did it anyway. He looked up at the sky and wished he was anywhere but there. He pulled on the tree and almost screamed as he could definitely feel where those bones were and he knew when he got them end to end too. His hands were shaking as he covered his face. He had thought about screaming but he thought it hurt too bad to even scream. He carefully got his foot from between the trees and put his makeshift splint on it and then lay back down on the ground. He had to sleep some more…

Jim and the others walked for two hours and then sat down to rest a few minutes. He drank some water. "He could have gone twenty miles in the length of time he was out here," he said.

"At least the trail is not so rugged," Carol replied. "It gets much steeper further along though."

"Yeah, I can see that. It is beautiful though, isn't it?"

"Absolutely. Look at that waterfall. No wonder Doctor McCoy wanted to come along this trail."

Spock looked out across the valley. "It is quite a lovely scene," he said. "I asked Uhura to come along, but she had a meeting this morning. She is working with the communications center here. I suppose we all have trouble relaxing."

They started walking again. Jim took out his communicator. "Bones," he said. "Bones." Of course, he did not get an answer. He looked up the trail they were on and saw nothing but nature. "Where are you, Bones?" he said.

Spock took out his tricorder. "I am picking up no human life signs in the immediate vicinity," he said.

"There's no telling how far he could have gotten. He left yesterday morning. I mean, if he walked all day, he could be way up there. We should have brought a ship."

"Now you tell us," Solan said. "I could have brought mine."

"Well, we're gonna enjoy this hike whether we find Bones doing fine, or whether something's wrong."

"What if he's hurt or something? It's gonna take us most of the day to get up there probably."

"We're on our way, Solan."

Solan did not think they were going fast enough, and he wished they had decided to bring a ship, but he also thought the captain did not really think anything was wrong.

Bones woke up again. He had not felt so sick since he had the flu when he was at the academy. He thought he had gotten it from Jim Kirk, who was always running around with so many beings. He wondered why he had tolerated Jim as a roommate. He had even entered pin numbers so that Jim could not get into the room until he was there. Jim always managed to figure them out though. Bones wondered how someone who seemed so arrogant and nonchalant could be so highly intelligent.

Bones grimaced at the pain in his leg. He sat up and wanted to lie back down, but he leaned back against the tree. He looked around him, but there was nothing out there, not even the "rabbit". He would try to get up. He found a limb from the tree that was about as big around as a cane. He broke the limbs off it and tested the limb to see how strong it was, and it was sturdy. He knew this was not going to be comfortable or fun, but he could not just sit there. He held onto the makeshift cane with one hand and the tree with the other and pulled himself up using only his left leg. He held onto the tree and stood there a moment.

Just as Bones was about to try to take a step, he heard something, but it sounded like it was moving fast through the brush this time. Suddenly, Heegat appeared. He grabbed Bones and shoved him down onto his back. Bones would have cried out with the pain, but Heegat covered his mouth. "A small fall was not enough to keep you in one place, I see!" he said menacingly.

Bones still had his makeshift cane in his hand and he jabbed the end of it into Heegat's side with all the strength he could muster. However, it did not go through Heegat's clothing, but it was enough to cause him some pain. Bones was not done yet. He rammed the cane into the side of Heegat's head next. That caused him to lose his grip and fall on the ground. Bones definitely could not move fast, but he tried to crawl away. Heegat grabbed him by his broken leg. He cried out but he turned with the cane and hit Heegat in the head again. This time, he was knocked out.

Bones groaned as he was on his back again, but he had to get up because he knew Heegat would not be out long. He turned over and started crawling. He had to find a way back up to the trail. He crawled around the ledge, dragging himself part of the time until he finally came around to a place that was not so steep. He would have to climb it with only one good leg and a broken rib, and he knew it was not going to be easy. He looked back the way he had come but he did not see Heegat. He knew he was bound to wake up. "Spock, where are you?" he asked. "Can't you get worried just this one time?"

Bones leaned on the side of the hill for a moment and then looked up. He certainly did not claim to be an extremely athletic person, but he would have to pull himself up this hill. He reached for a handhold and used his good leg to push himself up while he pulled. He looked up the hill, and it looked like a long way, but it was not really.

When Bones was almost to the top of the hill, he saw Heegat coming. He tried to scramble over the edge to get to the trail, but Heegat did not have anything holding him back from climbing that hill. Bones managed to get over the edge and sat up with his cane ready. As Heegat came over the edge, Bones tried to knock him off using the cane, but Heegat was ready for him. He grabbed the cane and managed to get over the edge of the cliff. He jerked the cane away from Bones, who turned and tried to get away from him, but Heegat swung the cane at Bones' hurt leg.

Bones yelled with that pain, but he kicked Heegat with his other foot. However, he could not get away from him because he could not run…

Jim and the others stopped again to rest, but they were starting to get more worried now because they had not heard from Bones all day. However, as they walked on, they saw something in the trail ahead. "Captain…" Spock began.

Jim ran to Bones, who was staked down in the middle of the trail. "Bones!" Jim exclaimed as he knelt beside him.

Spock, Solan, and Carol were there a second later. Bones opened his eyes. "Jim, get out of here!" he said.

"Captain, he has broken bones and internal injuries," Spock said as he was doing a scan.

"Jim…"

Jim cut the cords that were holding Bones' wrists and ankles to the stakes. "Jim, listen to me!" Bones said. "You have to…"

Solan drew his blaster as Heegat came out of the brush beside the trail. However, Solan was hit with a charge from Heegat's lance. Jim jumped up and tackled him before he could fire another one at Spock.

"Get Doctor McCoy back to the medical facility!" Spock said to Carol, and headed toward the scuffle.

Carol called to Pacifica security and told them their location, and to beam them to the medical facility. Bones wanted to protest that, but he did not have a choice. He could not help Jim in the condition he was in. He hoped Solan was okay, but Carol grabbed Solan's hand as they were being transported and he was transported too.

Jim and Heegat came to their feet, but Heegat was wasting no time. He started to fire an electrical charge at Spock, but he had to dodge a shot from Spock's blaster. Jim grabbed his own blaster and would have fired, but he was very close to Heegat, and he tripped him. Spock fired at him again, but he managed to dodge again.

Jim thought he was beginning to realize why this guy escaped on that ship. Heegat fired his electric charge at Spock, but Spock avoided it again and got a shot off that time. He almost hit Heegat that time, but he managed to get around it, and swung his lance at Jim at the same time. Jim ducked and tackled Heegat again. He touched Jim on the side of the head with the lance letting go a lesser charge which addled Jim enough that he could grab him around the neck.

"Let him go!" Spock demanded. "You have no means of escaping this time!"

"I will snap his neck!" Heegat declared as he got up holding Jim around his neck.

"If you do, you will die here!"

"I don't think so."

Heegat pressed a button on his belt and he and Jim started to be transported. Spock dived for them so that he could grab Jim's leg and be transported with them, but he was not in time.

Spock grabbed his communicator. "Pacifica Security! The Nausicaan has transported with Captain Kirk!" he exclaimed. "We must find him!"

"We read you," someone replied. "We are scanning the area now."

"I need to be transported back to Starfleet headquarters."

Spock waited and in only a few minutes, he was transported back to the headquarters. He had to let Admiral Winston know what was happening.


	14. Chapter 14

Jim was starting to come out of his stupor. He looked around him, and thought it looked like he was in a cave. He thought maybe this was where Heegat had been hiding. He did not see him at first, but then he saw him on the other side of the cavern. Heegat almost blended into the surroundings. There was a fire built in the center of the cavern.

"You can't possibly think you're going to get away with this," Jim said when he thought he could talk.

"I've gotten away with it so far," Heegat replied. "I have managed to evade you and your friends as well as the Klingons. You talk because you are worried…as you should be."

"What do you think you're going to gain by taking me here? Why didn't you just leave and go back where you came from?"

"I had to destroy the ship thanks to you."

"Yeah. Why did you do that?"

"We would not allow you to take our ship. It is that simple."

"No. There has to be more to it. You would have even blown up your own crew if we hadn't beamed the prisoners out. You're conspiring with the Romulans. Which faction?"

"You will never know."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. You've brought us into this and now, we're not going to quit till we find out what's really going on."

"The Federation is growing too big! They want to take over the entire galaxy! We do not have to submit to the Federation!"

"We are not trying to take over the galaxy!"

"It is too big. With great power comes great responsibility, and your Federation rejects those that it feels are not worthy of their attentions! And they make enemies, or slaves, of those who do not wish to submit to their authority!"

"That's not true. You have made your own self an enemy. You're a pirate! Stealing technology from others and selling them as slaves! How can you sit there and justify that?"

"We could not let the beings go because they would report what happened. They were not sold as slaves. We dropped them on worlds where they are unable to communicate or escape."

"Where!?"

"I will not tell you."

"Your reign of terror is over now. Where are they?"

"You have not seen terror yet. We will have _you_ now."

"You can't get me off this planet without causing yourself more trouble."

"They're on their way here now, and I will get you off this planet…and you will beg to share your knowledge with us."

Jim was silent a moment, contemplating what that meant. "Who's on their way here?" he asked.

"They will be in cloaked ships, and by the time your friends know about it, it will be too late."

Jim knew he had to do something before that happened. Heegat seemed to pick up on that, and he stood up. "You cannot escape," he said. "And if you try, I will break a bone for each time you try."

Jim stood up as well. "I won't go willingly, so you might as well start breaking."

Solan had recovered from his encounter with Heegat's lance. He ran all the way to the hangar where the Enterprise was docked. He would go and find Jim himself, in his own ship. Just as he was about to go up the boarding ramp, his communicator beeped at him.

"Solan here," he said.

"Solan, where are you?" Spock asked, sounding like he was a little winded himself.

"Why are you asking? Please don't tell me that I can't…"

"I'm not telling you not to go. I'm telling you to wait for me. Are you at your own ship?"

"I am."

"Good. I will be there shortly."

Solan ended the transmission. He was so glad Spock did not tell him not to go. There were already patrols out looking but he was sure they were not going to find the captain just by scanning.

Spock was soon there, and so was Artemus Gordon. They opened the shuttle bay of the Enterprise and were soon airborn. "I'm going to enhance the shields so that if he's using some sort of black hole device, we can find him," Artie said. "It'll take me a few minutes."

"Get busy," Solan replied.

Spock sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "We should do scans without the enhancements first," he said. "He may not have that technology here with him."

"We didn't find him before. He had to be hidden somewhere."

"I agree. However, we should scan normally first."

Jim intended to get out of the cave so that it would be easier for the scanners to pick him up because he knew people would be looking for him. Heegat had fired the lance at Jim, but he ducked and the walls of the cave had deflected it and it almost put Heegat down.

Jim took that opportunity to run for the mouth of the cave. He ducked just in time to avoid another blast from the lance. Heegat was very fast, and he tackled Jim before he could get out of the cave. Jim hit the ground hard, but he managed to get turned over and get out from under Heegat. He punched him, but that did little good because the tusk at the side of Heegat's mouth tore across his knuckles. He did not have time to think about that because Heegat drew his dagger.

Jim backed up a few steps. It was definitely the one he had seen on Magus III. "You fear death!" Heegat said.

"I don't think anyone wants to die," Jim replied. With that, he rolled to the right and dodged around Heegat and ran for the exit. He felt a pinprick in his neck and grabbed for whatever it was, and it was a small, red dart. He tried to keep running, but could not. He could even see out of the cave.

Jim refused to give up and tried to keep going, but Heegat shoved him down on the ground. He turned him over, and Jim could not move. Heegat held the dagger in front of his face. "Do you know that Nausicaans like to torture other beings?" he asked.

"I've heard," Jim said, feeling like he had to force the words out. "You torture helpless beings? You've proven one thing…you're a coward."

Jim thought he would stab him, but instead, Heegat nicked the side of his face with the razor sharp blade. "As I said before, you will soon beg to tell us your secrets…just as your admiral did," he said.

Jim frowned. "What admiral?" he asked. He knew they did not take Admiral Winston.

"Surely you can figure it out."

Jim wondered what Heegat would do to him next. Heegat laughed. "You are afraid!" he said. "It will not be difficult to get information from you."

Jim could not deny that he was afraid, but that did not mean he would give in. Heegat held the blade in front of his face again. "Do you know how sharp this blade is?" he asked. "It was made by one of the best weapons makers in the galaxy. He hones that blade until it can split a hair in half."

Jim remembered seeing Kyarn sharpening that blade. He shuddered as Heegat nicked the side of his neck, but he still could not move. "This blade could pierce all the way through you," Heegat said. He held the blade over the side of Jim's abdomen. "I could slowly push this blade through you, and it would not even hesitate." He suddenly stood up. "But that will come later."

Heegat got Jim up and over his shoulder and took him back to the same cavern they had been in. He simply threw him on the ground on his back, and Jim gasped for air. He could feel himself trembling inside. He had to think of how he could get a signal to Spock. He tried to move his hand, and could drag it slowly toward him. He looked at Heegat to make sure he was not watching him. He still had his communicator in his pocket. If he could get it out, he could activate the new transceiver that Artie had added to it. Spock and the others would be able to pick it up even in this cave. He managed to get the communicator out and opened it. He pressed the transceiver button, and then closed it. He pushed it back into his pocket and just lay there. He certainly hoped they found him.

Solan suddenly saw a blip on the scanner. "Spock, do you see that?" he asked.

"I see it," Spock replied.

Artie was right behind them. "He's activated the transceiver," he said. "It works!"

"Take us there, but do not approach the area too closely. We will approach on foot."

"Got it," Solan said.

It did not take them long to get to the area where the transceiver was. "I wish we could have gotten here that fast earlier," Solan remarked. "It's getting dark. What do you think Heegat is waiting for?"

"I do not know," Spock said. "We should be grateful for the reason, because it is obvious that he has not killed the captain."

"I want to put Heegat down." Solan looked at Spock. "It's personal."

"We are not here on a vengeance mission."

"How many times have you gone on vengeance missions?"

"I should like to hear your story."

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime."

"We're receiving a transmission," Artie said.

"On screen," Spock replied.

Grakar's face appeared on the screen. "Commander Spock, we are picking up a signal," Grakar said. "It is a Starfleet transceiver."

"Yes. It is the captain. We are about to approach on foot."

"We will help you."

"Perhaps you can create a diversion while we rescue the captain."

Grakar sat up straighter. "He will definitely be distracted. Which way will you be coming from?"

"We are still analyzing the information from the cave. There is a rear entrance. If you approach from the front, you can draw Heegat out."

"Then that is what we will do. Do not worry. He will not escape this time."

"I want to join you," Solan said.

"Solan, you are part of our crew, and you…" Spock began.

"Please, let me go with them."

Artie looked from Solan to Spock. "We should hurry," Artie said. "He must be waiting for something."

"He is correct," Spock agreed. "We do not have time for this debate. We must rescue the captain. That is our main goal. Our Klingon allies will take care of Heegat."

Solan frowned. He did not like it, but he was part of the crew, and he could not disobey an order. Spock looked at Grakar. "We will get to the captain while you create the distraction," Spock said.

Grakar nodded. "Let us know when you have him."

The transmission ended. Spock looked at Solan, knowing that he was having problems with this. "If you have so much hatred for Heegat because he killed a friend of yours, you should want to make sure he does not kill another friend," Spock said.

"You don't know him," Solan replied. "He could escape again."

"From five Klingons?"

"Well, Heegat's more of a coward than to stand and try to fight them, and he could easily take the captain with him."

"That is why we must get to the captain. Do not disobey orders."

"I won't. I'll help you get the captain out."

Solan did not add that after they got the captain out, he would go after Heegat if he had to. He landed the ship far enough from the cave that Heegat would not know they were there. He was sure he had no tracking equipment.

"We have landed, Commander," Grakar said over the communicator.

"As have we," Spock replied. "We will retain radio silence until we have the captain."

"Understood."

Spock, Solan, and Artie left Solan's ship and headed for the back entrance of the cave. "How do we know this is the back of the cave?" Artie whispered. "What if this is the front?"

"Don't start any of that nerdy stuff right now," Solan said. "Can't you see we're in a bad situation?"

Artie scanned for life signs after they got inside the cave. "There are two life signs not far from here," he whispered. "One of them is Captain Kirk."

They moved further into the cave and soon, they heard a Klingon yell. "I believe our friends have arrived," Spock said. "Let's hurry."

They soon came to the cavern where the life signs were. They could definitely hear that a fight was already going on. Spock looked around the corner and saw Heegat fire an electrical charge at the Klingons. However, he was not having a lot of luck with them.

Spock also saw Jim lying on the ground, and trying to move. "We must get to the captain," Spock said.

Solan could see Heegat, and instead of following Spock and Artie over to Jim, he headed toward the cave entrance where Heegat and the Klingons were fighting in the tunnel. Spock saw him run that way, but he did not call after him as he did not want to alert Heegat.

Spock and Artie got Jim up, and realized he could barely move. "He shot me with something," Jim said, still feeling like he had to force the words out.

"We must move," Spock declared.

They got Jim out of the cavern and into the tunnel toward the back entrance. They hurried to the ship and let Grakar know that they had the captain. "We have defeated Heegat," Grakar said. "He is dead."

Jim heard that. He was hoping they could capture Heegat and try to make him tell them what admiral he was talking about. Solan soon came running into the ship. He avoided looking at Spock, whom he was sure would tell the captain that he disobeyed orders, but right now, he did not care.

The medical staff in the medical complex did not have much trouble counteracting the paralyzing substance that Heegat had given to Jim. He lay still while they repaired the cuts on his face and neck as well.

Carol was there, and so was Spock. "I feel fine," Jim said. "He didn't hurt me much. I think he intended to take me somewhere else and torture me."

"You are most likely correct, Jim," Spock replied.

"He also talked about an admiral." Jim looked at Spock. "He said I would be begging to share my secrets with them like the admiral was."

"What admiral?" Carol asked.

"I don't know. You know, we never knew what happened to Admiral Carson. There's so much going on here."

"You really think they could have him?"

"They are in league with the Romulans and with the rogue Klingons. It's possible. I was hoping we could capture him."

"I believe he would have rather died than to be captured."

"I guess so. I just have a feeling that this conflict is not over yet."

Spock was silent a moment. "I would like to speak to the captain alone," he said.

"First, how's Bones?" Jim asked.

"The doctor is recovering."

"Great."

Carol kissed Jim. "I'll be back later with Alex," she said.

"Alright."

Carol left and Jim looked at Spock. "What is it?" he asked.

"It is about Solan," Spock said. "While we were on the mission, he disobeyed a direct order. Nothing happened as a result. However…"

"You want me to take care of it."

"He was very distraught about a previous encounter with Heegat. He killed someone very close to Solan, and I believe emotions had a bearing on his decision to disobey."

Jim was silent a moment. "Spock, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were making an excuse for him," he said.

"I will leave that up to you, Jim, but I will not include it in my report."

"Good. Tell him to come and see me later."

"Yes, Captain."

After the doctor cleared Jim to be up, he went to see about Bones. He was awake when he walked in. "Well, how do you feel?" Jim asked.

"Terrible," Bones said. "But I'll live. I hope we don't encounter those Nausicaans again, especially that one. Although I hear we won't see him again."

"No. But I don't think we've heard the last of all this."

"When do we get to go back out to our mission, I hope we can avoid all these hostile species who want to kill us and stop the peace process. They're worse than some deadly virus or substance that no one in the galaxy ever heard of."

Jim shook his head. "Maybe we can avoid all of them. I'm glad you're alright, Bones."

"Me too. Next time I want to go hiking by myself, knock me out."

Jim smiled. "It wasn't that that messed up your trip."

"I know, but when you have enemies like them, you shouldn't be going out there alone. I must have been temporarily insane."

"Get some rest."

"I'll try. You know, I went my whole life without something like this, and now I've had both my legs broken."

"Well, the other time it wasn't in a fight, Bones."

"Yeah. I fell both times."

Jim sat down on the end of the bed. "Why did you go out there alone?" he asked.

"I wanted to be alone and think," Bones said.

Jim did not want to ask Bones about his relationship with Andrea, but Carol was rather upset about it. "Why did you break up with Andrea?" Jim asked.

"That's none of your business," Bones replied.

"I knew you were going to say that."

"I tried, Jim."

"I know you did. I'll see you in the morning. I'm gonna be in meetings all night. Wish me luck."

"Good luck."


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, Jim was sitting on the patio at his quarters drinking more coffee. He was terribly sleepy after being in meetings all night, but he had to be up anyway. He wondered if he had even gotten two hours of sleep. He was waiting for Solan, but he was holding Alex while he waited and watched the sun come up.

Soon, he heard the door chime. "Enter," Jim said. "I'm on the patio."

Solan soon arrived on the patio and even stood at attention. "I'm reporting as ordered, Sir," he said.

"Have a seat."

Solan sat down at the table. "I know what you wanted to see me about," he said.

"I'm sure you do. You disobeyed an order."

Solan was silent for so long, Jim thought he was not going to say anymore. "Don't you have anything you want to say for yourself?" Jim asked.

"I wanted to go after him and make sure he didn't escape again, Captain."

"Why?"

"He killed someone who was very dear to me. He killed my brother, and left me here in this galaxy alone."

"You still disobeyed an order. When Spock orders you to do something, you're supposed to do it just like if I ordered you."

"I would have disobeyed you too."

Jim just stared at him a moment. "Well, I have to figure out some way to punish you for disobeying an order," he said.

"Punish me?"

"Yeah. You're part of this crew. You can't go around doing what you want."

"Oh yeah. I'm really part of the crew. I don't even have a rank. I'm just there to fix things, and let you use my ship when you need it, and be your bodyguard."

"How long have you been feeling like this?"

"I don't know. I guess since I saw Heegat again." Solan stood up and folded his arms.

"I've been thinking of giving you a rank."

"Like what? Ensign?"

"Solan. You've been with us a long time. We'll take care of that later anyway. Right now, I want you to go and clean the warp plasma filters. They always need cleaning."

Solan turned around and looked at Jim as his mouth dropped open. "The warp plasma filters? That's brutal!"

"Is it?" Jim asked.

"That's worse than crawling through the access tubes."

"Good. Maybe next time you're given an order, you'll follow it, no matter what your private agenda is."

Solan frowned and just stood there a moment. Jim hardly ever talked stern like that, but when he did, Solan thought it was more embarrassing that anything else. "I'm sorry, Captain," he said. "I just didn't think Spock and Artie would need me."

"That's not the point, Solan. You do know the point, don't you?"

"Yes sir," Solan said as though he were saying it sarcastically.

"Don't be insubordinate on top of everything else." Jim stood up then and glared at him. "Now, get on to the ship and do what I told you to do."

Solan could tell by Jim's tone of voice and the look on his face that he was just a little angry. "Yes sir," he said.

Jim glared at him slightly. "Maybe you'll be done before we have to leave," he said. "I'm ready to get off this planet."

Solan left and went to change into his uniform. He would just wear that to crawl around in the warp plasma filters. He could not believe the captain had ordered him to do that. He met Spock as he was leaving the building.

"Good morning, Solan," Spock said.

Solan knew Spock did not hold grudges or stay angry about anything. "I'm sorry for disobeying your orders, Spock," he said.

"Did the captain speak with you?"

"Yes, he did."

"Then I assume the matter is closed."

"Yes."

"It is forgotten."

"Maybe for you."

Spock scowled at that comment, but he walked on. He was sure Jim had thought up some punishment.

After two more days, Jim and the crew boarded the Enterprise to go on with the rest of their mission, which would not be much longer. However, they would be taking Chancellor Gorkon back to Kronos before they went on. He entered the Bridge in his usual uniform. "Captain on the Bridge," John McCoy said.

"All systems are go, Captain," Sulu reported.

"Take us out of here, Mister Sulu," Jim said as he sat down in his chair. "And doesn't the ship just seem…clean this morning?"

Sulu looked around at him a little puzzled. "Sir?"

"Never mind. Let's just go." Jim smiled as he thought of Solan crawling around cleaning those filters…but he had done it without any complaints, or at least, he did not make any to him.

He was just glad to be getting out into space. He thought it was much more relaxing to be at warp in space than to be on a planet sometimes. He knew they would most likely meet up with more who would be angry about that ship being destroyed, and about Heegat's death, and about the Klingon peace treaty. But it was all part of space…the final frontier.


End file.
